Thalamus interacts with cortical areas, generating oscillations characterized by their rhythm and levels of synchrony. However, little is known of what function the rhythmic dynamic may serve in thalamocortical couplings. This work introduced a general approach to investigate the modulatory contribution of rhythmic scalp network to the thalamo-frontal couplings in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) and frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE). Here, time-varying rhythmic network was constructed using the adapted directed transfer function between EEG electrodes, and then was applied as a modulator in fMRI-based thalamocortical functional couplings. Furthermore, the relationship between corticocortical connectivity and rhythm-dependent thalamocortical coupling was examined. The results revealed thalamocortical couplings modulated by EEG scalp network have frequency-dependent characteristics. Increased thalamus- sensorimotor network (SMN) and thalamus-default mode network (DMN) couplings in JME were strongly modulated by alpha band. These thalamus–SMN couplings demonstrated enhanced association with SMN-related corticocortical connectivity. In addition, altered theta-dependent and beta-dependent thalamus-frontoparietal network (FPN) couplings were found in FLE. The reduced theta-dependent thalamus–FPN couplings were associated with the decreased FPN-related corticocortical connectivity. This study proposed interactive links between the rhythmic modulation and thalamocortical coupling. The crucial role of SMN and FPN in subcortical-cortical circuit may have implications for intervention in generalized and focal epilepsy.

中文翻译：

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癫痫中丘脑皮质耦合的节律网络调制

丘脑与皮质区域相互作用，产生以节奏和同步水平为特征的振荡。然而，关于节律动态可能在丘脑皮质耦合中发挥什么功能知之甚少。这项工作介绍了一种通用方法来研究节律性头皮网络对青少年肌阵挛性癫痫 (JME) 和额叶癫痫 (FLE) 中丘脑-额叶耦合的调节作用。在这里，时变节律网络是使用 EEG 电极之间的自适应定向传递函数构建的，然后在基于 fMRI 的丘脑皮质功能耦合中用作调制器。此外，检查了皮质连接性和节律依赖性丘脑皮质耦合之间的关系。结果显示脑电图头皮网络调制的丘脑皮质耦合具有频率依赖性特征。JME中增加的丘脑-感觉运动网络（SMN）和丘脑-默认模式网络（DMN）耦合受到α波段的强烈调制。这些丘脑-SMN 耦合表现出与 SMN 相关的皮质连接性增强的关联。此外，在 FLE 中发现了改变的 theta 依赖和 beta 依赖的丘脑-额顶网络 (FPN) 耦合。减少的θ依赖性丘脑-FPN耦合与减少的FPN相关的皮质连接性有关。这项研究提出了节律调制和丘脑皮质耦合之间的交互联系。