Identification of Brain Damage after Seizures Using an MR-Based Electrical Conductivity Imaging Method

Previous imaging studies have shown the morphological malformation and the alterations of ionic mobility, water contents, electrical properties, or metabolites in seizure brains. Magnetic resonance electrical properties tomography (MREPT) is a recently developed technique for the measurement of electrical tissue properties with a high frequency that provides cellular information regardless of the cell membrane. In this study, we examined the possibility of MREPT as an applicable technique to detect seizure-induced functional changes in the brain of rats. Ultra-high field (9.4 T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed, 2 h, 2 days, and 1 week after the injection of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA; 75 mg/kg). The conductivity images were reconstructed from B1 phase images using a magnetic resonance conductivity imaging (MRCI) toolbox. The high-frequency conductivity was significantly decreased in the hippocampus among various brain regions of NMDA-treated rats. Nissl staining showed shrunken cell bodies and condensed cytoplasm potently at 2 h after NMDA treatment, and neuronal cell loss at all time points in the hippocampus. These results suggest that the reduced electrical conductivity may be associated with seizure-induced neuronal loss in the hippocampus. Magnetic resonance (MR)-based electrical conductivity imaging may be an applicable technique to non-invasively identify brain damage after a seizure.

Automated summary

Previous imaging studies have shown morphological malformation and alterations in ionic mobility, water contents, electrical properties, or metabolites in seizure brains. This study examined the potential of MREPT as a technique to detect seizure-induced functional changes in rat brains. The results revealed significantly decreased high-frequency conductivity in the hippocampus of NMDA-treated rats, accompanied by changes in cell structure and neuronal loss.