Application of the Granger causality model for the study of effective connectivity from functional magnetic resonance images acquired during verbal, visual and operating memory experiments in healthy subjects and patients with refractory epilepsy

• Grant number: 12/24363-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: September 01, 2013
• End date: January 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Gabriela Castellano
• Grantee: Márcia Silva de Oliveira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin (IFGW). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The main objective of this project is to apply the technique known as Granger causality analysis to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from three distinct groups: (1) normal individuals (controls), (2) patients with Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (MTLE) and (3) patients with Frontal Lobe Epilepsy (FLE). All individuals will be submitted to an fMRI exam with presentation of long-term (verbal and visual) memory and working memory paradigms. A search of the literature shows a gap with respect to the use of this tool for analysis of the mentioned memory types, in particular, regarding the relation between verbal, visual and operational memory studies in groups of epilepsy patients. More specifically, our main goal is to apply this approach to the study of the effective connectivity between brain regions involved in the processing of verbal, visual and operational memories, in order to better understand the way in which MTLE and FLE affect the brain connections of patients, through comparison with the fMRI exams of the control group. We also want to compare the results obtained with Granger causality with results obtained using another technique of effective connectivity estimation, the so called dynamic causal modeling (DCM). This would allow to better evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the Granger causality model. Another goal of this work, after the application of Granger causality in epilepsy is verified, is to extend the use of this technique to other neurological diseases.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DE ALBUQUERQUE, MILENA; ANJOS, LARA G. V.; TAVARES DE ANDRADE, HELEN MAIA; DE OLIVEIRA, MARCIA S.; CASTELLANO, GABRIELA; RIBEIRO DE REZENDE, THIAGO JUNQUEIRA; NUCCI, ANAMARLI; FRANCA JUNIOR, MARCONDES CAVALCANTE. MRI Texture Analysis Reveals Deep Gray Nuclei Damage in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. JOURNAL OF NEUROIMAGING, v. 26, n. 2, p. 201-206, MAR-APR 2016. (12/24363-2, 13/07559-3, 11/21521-3)

SANTOS, T. A.; MAISTRO, C. E. B.; SILVA, C. B.; OLIVEIRA, M. S.; FRANCA, JR., M. C.; CASTELLANO, G.. MRI Texture Analysis Reveals Bulbar Abnormalities in Friedreich Ataxia. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF NEURORADIOLOGY, v. 36, n. 12, p. 2214-2218, DEC 2015. (12/24363-2, 13/01766-7, 13/07559-3, 13/16273-6)