Neuroimaging of mental disorders Òscar Vilarroya

6. - Neurofunctional changes in patients with depression related to temporal lobe epilepsy

From a clinical viewpoint, it is well-known that there is a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders, particularly depression, among epileptic patients. These alterations present themselves and are associated with cognitive associations. Psychiatric alterations in epilepsy may appear during its initial ictal, post-ictal or inter-ictal phases. In refractory patients receiving pharmacological treatment, the first therapeutic alternative is to extirpate the mesial temporal structures using the technique of selective amygdalohippocampectomy in the earliest stages possible. Some studies show that surgery can improve psychopathological symptomatology, although in some cases this has been shown to lead to the appearance of new symptoms. Thus, some authors state that they attain a reduction in depression after surgery only when the crisis has been totally suppressed. If this is not the case, there is no change to the mental state. The objectives of this study are: a) To identify the neuropsychological and clinical profile and the neurofunctional markers associated with the perception and recognition of emotions and their association with the presence, or not, of depressive symptoms before and after epilepsy surgery in a group of epileptic patients submitted to surgery for epilepsy: b) To determine the neurofunctional changes underlying the changes in the depressive symptomatology induced by epilepsy surgery in the same group of patients.