Spectral EEG Analysis in Children with Self-limited Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes
Abstract number :
1.275
Submission category :
3. Neurophysiology / 3G. Computational Analysis & Modeling of EEG
Year :
2025
Submission ID :
699
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/6/2025 12:00:00 AM
Published date :
Authors :
Presenting Author: Gonca Bektas, MD – Boston Children's Hospital
Navaneethakrishna Makaram, PhD, MS – Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Eleonora Tamilia, PhD – Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Bo Zhang, PhD – Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Tobias Loddenkemper, MD – Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Rationale: There is an urgent clinical need for improved electrophysiological biomarkers for epilepsy diagnosis, management, and comorbidity evaluation. The theta/beta ratio and frontal alpha power are related to central nervous system processing capacity. In this study, we hypothesize that these electrophysiological features can differentiate between children with self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (SeLECTS) and age-matched controls.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective study involving children with SeLECTS who underwent long-term video-EEG monitoring between April 2009 and March 2019, along with a control group of age-matched children with normal video-EEG monitoring from 2010 to 2021. The study received approval from the Boston Children’s Hospital Institutional Review Board. We analyzed the relative power of the alpha frequency band for the frontal electrodes (Fp1, Fp2, Fz, F3, F4, F7, F8) and the theta/beta ratio at the central electrodes (Cz, Fz, and Pz) in 30-second awake EEG segments free of epileptiform discharges using Spectral analysis. We investigated group differences in frontal alpha power and the theta/beta ratio using the Mann–Whitney U test.
Results: This study included 29 patients with SeLECTS, with a mean age of 9.1 ± 2.5 years (range: 3 to 14 years), and 29 age-matched children in the control group. The mean age at seizure onset was 7.5 ± 2.5 years (range: 2 to 12 years), and the mean follow-up duration was 66 ± 41 months (range: 8 to 215 months). Among the patients with SeLECTS, 9 (30%) were diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). At the time of EEG recording, 11 patients (38%) were receiving antiseizure medication, and 2 (7%) were taking medication for ADHD. The theta/beta ratio at Pz was significantly higher in the SeLECTS group compared to the control group (p=0.04). The theta/beta ratio did not differ significantly between patients with and without ADHD (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference in theta/beta ratio between patients who were on antiseizure medication and those who were not (p >0.05). There were no significant differences in relative alpha power or theta/beta ratio at Cz and Fz between patients with SeLECTS and the control group (p >0.05).
Conclusions: Children with SeLECTS showed a significantly higher theta/beta ratio at the Pz electrode compared to age-matched controls, which may suggest localized differences in cortical activity. Future studies are in progress to validate EEG biomarkers to diagnose and manage SeLECTS and potentially related epilepsies and comorbidities.
Funding: N/A
Neurophysiology