Work

Nimg-06the Impact of High Grade Glial Neoplasms on Human Cortical Electrophysiology

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The brain's functional architecture is comprised of multiple interconnected networks. These have been established both with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies via the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal and electrocorticography (ECoG) directly from the brain surface. Understanding how these networks are perturbed in the setting of an invasive brain tumor is critical to defining the brain's adaptive capacity and the impact an invasive glial tumor exerts on this connectivity. METHODS: Six patients undergoing an awake craniotomy for resection of a high grade glial tumor were studied to define how cortical physiology and the brain's network connectivity were altered by the presence of an invasive brain tumor. Electrocorticographic data was acquired intraoperatively and then subsequently analyzed post-operatively comparing the neoplastic microenvironment against the non-neoplastic surrounding cortex. RESULTS: This study demonstrates that there is a distinct and reproducible pattern of alteration of cortical physiology in the setting of a malignant glioma. These changes lead to a physiologic sequestration and progressive synaptic homogeneity suggesting that a de-learning phenomenon occurs within the tumoral tissue compared to its surroundings. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide insight into how the brain accommodates the presence of an invasive tumor. These findings may also have important implications for the development of emerging advanced imaging techniques for use in brain mapping in the setting of high grade glioma. Taken together, this may allow for the development of a non-invasive predictive model for where tumors are most likely to recur and inform radiation planning and dosing at the time of initial diagnosis.

Source: Neuro-Oncology

DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/nov225.06