Effect of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy on Auditory-motor Integration for Vocal Pitch Regulation: Evidence from Brain Functional Network Analysis

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a medically refractory focal epilepsy associated with structural deficits. Considerable evidence has revealed that patients with TLE also exhibit deficits in functional connectivity. According to previous research, patients with TLE exhibited decreased performance in speech sound perception and auditory-motor integration for voice control, which might be related to the compromised brain network connectivity. However, the specific nature of functional connectivity within and across brain regions remains largely unknown. To answer this question, we extended previous research from examining the topological properties of the entire brain network to the intra- and inter-regional communications of different brain regions. Patients with TLE and healthy controls were recruited to perform a pitch reflex task, during which electroencephalograph (EEG) data were acquired to construct graphical brain networks. Compared with healthy controls, inter-regional and cross-hemispheric connections were reduced in patients with TLE, whose functional networks were primarily composed of intra-regional connections. Significant differences in network parameters (betweenness centrality, modularity, and functional integration) as well as network hubs between the two groups further supported our findings that TLE is associated with alterations in functional connectivity during auditory-motor integration.