Laminar heterotopia: A rare cause of epilepsy and mental retardation

Abstract

Neuronal migration disorders are a category of developmental brain disorders leading to cortical dysplasia. Laminar heterotopia is a form of diffuse gray matter heterotopia, which can result from a failure of proliferation, migration, or organization of neuronal and glial cells in the developing cortex leading to cortical dysplasia. The etiopathogenesis of this malformation remains a subject of discussion. Band heterotopia or double cortex are frequently shown if not always of genetic origin (mutation of genes coding for neuronal migration). We report the case of a young patient who presented episodes of complex seizures since childhood and mild mental retardation.