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Toward a Mechanistic Understanding of Epileptic Networks

  • Epilepsy (CW Bazil, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Focal epileptic seizures have long been considered to arise from a small susceptible brain area and spread through uninvolved regions. In the past decade, the idea that focal seizures instead arise from coordinated activity across large-scale epileptic networks has become widely accepted. Understanding the network model’s applicability is critical, due to its increasing influence on clinical research and surgical treatment paradigms. In this review, we examine the origins of the concept of epileptic networks as the nidus for recurring seizures. We summarize analytical and methodological elements of epileptic network studies and discuss findings from recent detailed electrophysiological investigations. Our review highlights the strengths and limitations of the epileptic network theory as a metaphor for the complex interactions that occur during seizures. We present lines of investigation that may usefully probe these interactions and thus serve to advance our understanding of the long-range effects of epileptiform activity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurological Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Elliot H. Smith

  2. Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Catherine A. Schevon

  3. Neurological Institute, 710 West 168th Street, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Catherine A. Schevon

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  1. Elliot H. Smith
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  2. Catherine A. Schevon
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Correspondence to Catherine A. Schevon.

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Elliot H. Smith declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Catherine A. Schevon reports a grant from NIH/NINDS (R01 NS084142).

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Epilepsy

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Smith, E.H., Schevon, C.A. Toward a Mechanistic Understanding of Epileptic Networks. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 16, 97 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-016-0701-2

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