Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and Basal Ganglia Dysfunction

Epileptologists have long assumed that the pathologic process in temporal lobe epilepsy is confined to the temporal lobe. However, these authors previously found dopaminergic changes in the basal ganglia in patients with specific, severe seizure syndromes. To further explore the role of the basal ganglia in epilepsy, the researchers have now used PET and MRI to study the functions and structures of the caudate, putamen, and substantia nigra in 12 patients with medically intractable left temporal lobe epilepsy and in 49 healthy controls.

Bilateral reductions in uptake of [¹⁸F]fluoro-L-dopa (a radiotracer used to measure presynaptic dopaminergic function) were seen in all three structures of the basal ganglia. However, a glucose radiotracer, […