Functional MRI activation of individual interictal epileptiform spikes

We used spike-triggered functional MRI in a patient with localization-relat ed epilepsy to determine whether individual (as opposed to averaged) focal interictal epileptiform discharges (spikes) were associated with hemodynami c changes detectable with blood oxygen level-dependent functional MRI (fMRI ). It was found that 15 of 43 spikes (34.9%) were associated with significa nt focal fMRI activation. Single event-related fMRI of interictal spikes is feasible in selected patients, giving complementary information to that pr ovided by averaged fMRI data. (C) 2001 Academic Press.