Assessing memory is often critical in surgical evaluation, although difficult to assess in young children and in patients with variable task abilities. While obtaining interpretable data from task-based functional MRI (fMRI) measures is common in compliant and awake patients, it is not known whether functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI) data show equivalent results. If this were the case, it would have substantial clinical and research generalizability. To evaluate this possibility, the authors evaluated the concordance between fMRI and fcMRI data collected in a presurgical epilepsy cohort.

Task-based fMRI data for autobiographical memory tasks and resting-state fcMRI data were collected in patients with epilepsy evaluated at Seattle Children’s Hospital between 2010 and 2017. To assess memory-related activation and laterality, signal change in task-based measures was computed as a percentage of the average blood oxygen level–dependent signal over the defined regions of interest. An fcMRI data analysis was performed using 1000 Functional Connectomes Project scripts based on Analysis of Functional NeuroImages and FSL (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain Software Library) software packages. Lateralization indices (LIs) were estimated for activation and connectivity measures. The concordance between these two measures was evaluated using correlation and regression analysis.

In this epilepsy cohort studied, the authors observed concordance between fMRI activation and fcMRI connectivity, with an LI regression coefficient of 0.470 (R² = 0.221, p = 0.00076).

Previously published studies have demonstrated fMRI and fcMRI overlap between measures of vision, attention, and language. In the authors’ clinical sample, task-based measures of memory and analogous resting-state mapping were similarly linked in pattern and strength. These results support the use of fcMRI methods as a proxy for task-based memory performance in presurgical patients, perhaps including those who are more limited in their behavioral compliance. Future investigations to extend these results will be helpful to explore how the magnitudes of effect are associated with neuropsychological performance and postsurgical behavioral changes.

评估记忆力在手术评估中通常至关重要，尽管对于幼儿和任务能力可变的患者来说很难评估。虽然从基于任务的功能 MRI (fMRI) 测量中获取可解释的数据在顺从且清醒的患者中很常见，但尚不清楚功能连接 MRI (fcMRI) 数据是否显示相同的结果。如果是这样的话，它将具有很大的临床和研究普遍性。为了评估这种可能性，作者评估了术前癫痫队列中收集的 fMRI 和 fcMRI 数据之间的一致性。

收集了 2010 年至 2017 年间在西雅图儿童医院评估的癫痫患者的自传体记忆任务的基于任务的 fMRI 数据和静息态 fcMRI 数据。为了评估记忆相关的激活和偏侧性，基于任务的测量中的信号变化计算如下：定义的感兴趣区域内平均血氧水平相关信号的百分比。使用基于功能神经图像分析和 FSL（脑功能磁共振成像软件库）软件包的 1000 个功能连接组项目脚本进行 fcMRI 数据分析。偏侧化指数（LI）是针对激活和连接性测量进行估计的。使用相关性和回归分析来评估这两种测量之间的一致性。

在这个癫痫队列研究中，作者观察到 fMRI 激活和 fcMRI 连接之间的一致性，LI 回归系数为 0.470（R ² = 0.221，p = 0.00076）。

之前发表的研究表明，fMRI 和 fcMRI 在视觉、注意力和语言测量方面存在重叠。在作者的临床样本中，基于任务的记忆测量和类似的静息状态映射在模式和强度上有着类似的联系。这些结果支持使用 fcMRI 方法作为术前患者基于任务的记忆表现的代理，可能包括那些行为依从性较为有限的患者。未来扩展这些结果的研究将有助于探索影响的大小如何与神经心理表现和术后行为变化相关。