Multimodal MRI assessment of damage and plasticity caused by status epilepticus in the rat brain

Status epilepticus or other brain-damaging insults launch a cascade of events that may lead to the development of epilepsy. MRI techniques available today, including T₂- and T₁-weighted imaging, functional MRI, manganese enhanced MRI (MEMRI), arterial spin labeling (ASL), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and phase imaging, can detect not only damage caused by status epilepticus but also plastic changes in the brain that occur in response to damage. Optimal balance between damage and recovery processes is a key for planning possible treatments, and noninvasive imaging has the potential to greatly facilitate this process and to make personalized treatment plans possible.