Comparison between focal and general epilepsy with respect to network changes.
| Syndrome type | Structures affected1,41,43,65-68 | Network changes14,62-65 | Implication40,51-53 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focal epilepsy (e.g TLE) | Lateral temporal, entorhinal, inferior frontal cortices, subcortical nuclei (the amygdala and medial thalamus), posterior cingulate, precuneus, inferior parietal, and medial prefrontal cortices | A shift from small to world configuration towards a random configuration. a shift towards a more regular network organization. Decreased connectivity between hippocampi, decreased connectivity between the hippocampus and the orbito-frontal cortex. | TLE is not restricted to the mesiotemporal lobe structures |
| Generalized epilepsy (e.g Childhood Absence Epilepsy) | Thalamo-cortical, Precuneus, posterior cingulate gyrus prefrontal cortex, temporal cortex and cerebellum | Focal cortical changes in precuneus precede changes in the thalamus. Increase in connectivity in the frontal cortex, temporal cortex and the cerebellum. Preservation of normal network topology | Generalized epilepsies are associated with a number of focal abnormalities. |
| TLE- Temporal lobe epilepsy | |||