Brain Advance Access originally published online on May 21, 2009
Brain 2009 132(6):1656-1668; doi:10.1093/brain/awp114
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Defining Meyer's loop–temporal lobe resections, visual field deficits and diffusion tensor tractography
1 Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, UCL Institute of Neurology and National Society for Epilepsy, UCL, London, UK 2 Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Georg-August University Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany 3 Department of Neuroimaging, Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy 4 Department of Neuro-ophthalmology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK 5 Imaging Science and Biomedical Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK 6 Department of Computer Science, UCL, London, UK 7 Department of Neurosurgery, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK
Correspondence to: Prof. J. S. Duncan, Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK E-mail: j.duncan{at}ion.ucl.ac.uk
Anterior temporal lobe resection is often complicated by superior quadrantic visual field deficits (VFDs). In some cases this can be severe enough to prohibit driving, even if a patient is free of seizures. These deficits are caused by damage to Meyer's loop of the optic radiation, which shows considerable heterogeneity in its anterior extent. This structure cannot be distinguished using clinical magnetic resonance imaging sequences. Diffusion tensor tractography is an advanced magnetic resonance imaging technique that enables the parcellation of white matter. Using seed voxels antero-lateral to the lateral geniculate nucleus, we applied this technique to 20 control subjects, and 21 postoperative patients. All patients had visual fields assessed with Goldmann perimetry at least three months after surgery. We measured the distance from the tip of Meyer's loop to the temporal pole and horn in all subjects. In addition, we measured the size of temporal lobe resection using postoperative T1-weighted images, and quantified VFDs. Nine patients suffered VFDs ranging from 22% to 87% of the contralateral superior quadrant. In patients, the range of distance from the tip of Meyer's loop to the temporal pole was 24–43 mm (mean 34 mm), and the range of distance from the tip of Meyer's loop to the temporal horn was –15 to +9 mm (mean 0 mm). In controls the range of distance from the tip of Meyer's loop to the temporal pole was 24–47 mm (mean 35 mm), and the range of distance from the tip of Meyer's loop to the temporal horn was –11 to +9 mm (mean 0 mm). Both quantitative and qualitative results were in accord with recent dissections of cadaveric brains, and analysis of postoperative VFDs and resection volumes. By applying a linear regression analysis we showed that both distance from the tip of Meyer's loop to the temporal pole and the size of resection were significant predictors of the postoperative VFDs. We conclude that there is considerable variation in the anterior extent of Meyer's loop. In view of this, diffusion tensor tractography of the optic radiation is a potentially useful method to assess an individual patient's risk of postoperative VFDs following anterior temporal lobe resection.
Key Words: diffusion tensor tractography; Meyer's loop; optic radiation; anterior temporal lobe resection
Abbreviations: ATLR, anterior temporal lobe resection; ML–TH, distance from the tip of Meyer's loop to tip of temporal horn; ML–TP, distance from the tip Meyer's loop to temporal pole; VFD, visual field deficit
Received October 23, 2008. Revised March 13, 2009. Accepted March 22, 2009.