Psychogenic non epileptic seizures (PNES) are paroxysmal events which look like epileptic seizures without paroxysmal neuronal activity. Actually, pathophysiology model of PNES, conceived from epidemiologic and pathopsychological data, have shown a crucial role of dissociation and emotional processing in genesis and sustainability of PNES.

To investigate the cerebral emotional processing in patients with PNES versus patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and healthy controls (HC). We hypothesize patients with PNES have different emotional processing, especially an hyperactivation of limbic system and hypoactivation of motor and executive control versus patient with PTSD and HC. We also supposed that we will find an hyperconnectivity between areas engaged in emotional processing (insula, limbic system) and motor and executive control in PNES versus PTSD and HC.

In the EMOCRISES study, we recruited three groups of subjects: women with PNES, women with PTSD, and HC. On Siemens 3T MRI (Prisma), these subjects realized a resting-state task and four emotional paradigms: an event-related paradigm, a blocked-related paradigm ant two fast periodic visual stimulations. For pre-processing, we use SPM12 software and PhysIO toolbox (TAPAS) for emotional paradigm, and Connectivity toolbox for resting-state. Results were visualized with Anatomist from BrainVisa.

We present the first results of resting-state and blocked-paradigm between HC and patients with PNES.

If our hypotheses are confirmed, we could use these results to better diagnose PNES and, maybe, find new therapeutic targets for transcranial magnetic stimulation.