Elsevier, Clinical Neurophysiology, 2(127), p. 1147-1156, 2016
DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2015.08.020
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Objective:- Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and a simple motor paradigm were used to study induced sensorimotor responses and their relationship to motor skills in children diagnosed with Benign Epilepsy with Centro-Temporal Spikes (BECTS). Methods:- Twenty-one children with BECTS and 15 age-matched controls completed a finger abduction task in MEG; movement-related oscillatory responses were derived and contrasted between groups. A subset of children also completed psycho-behavioural assessments. Regression analyses explored the relationship of MEG responses to manual dexterity performance, and dependence upon clinical characteristics. Results:- In children with BECTS, manual dexterity was below the population mean (p = .002) and three showed severe impairment. Our main significant finding was of reduced ipsilateral movement related beta desynchrony (MRBDi) in BECTS relative to the control group (p = .03) and predicted by epileptic seizure recency (p = .02), but not age, medication status, or duration of epilepsy. Laterality scores across the entire cohort indicated that less lateralised MRBD predicted better manual dexterity(p = .04). Conclusions:- Altered movement-related oscillatory responses in ipsilateral motor cortex were associated with motor skill deficits in children with BECTS. These changes were more marked in those with more recent seizures. Significance:- These findings may reflect differences in inter-hemispheric interactions during motor control in BECTS.