Electrical activity in the brain just before
a seizure starts
The area of the brain in which seizures
start is called the seizure focus. In this
area, the normal electrical signalling of
the brain is not always totally controlled.
If the excitability gets out of control,
a seizure arises. The seizure focus therefore
often has different electrical properties
to those of the normal surrounding tissue.
The area's response to stimulation with
a magnet has also been found to change in
the run-up to a seizure.
This project will look at how these electrical
and magnetic features are related. Dr
Mark Richardson at the Institute of
Psychiatry, London has been awarded £59,991.74
over one year to conduct "Electrical
and magnetic brain stimulation studies of
the epileptogenic zone in man".
This will include whether stimulating the
focus with a magnet produces a measurable
electrical response, and whether the electrical
properties of the focus change in the run-up
to a seizure, in parallel to the magnetic
changes. If these properties are related
it may be possible to develop the use of
EEG to forecast when a patient's next seizure
will happen, a completely non-invasive,
cheap, easy and safe investigation. If an
imminent seizure could be reliably predicted,
in theory a new therapy could be developed
for administration at this point. At the
very least these investigations should tell
us more about the electrical and magnetic
properties of epileptic brain tissue immediately
before a seizure, which should tell us more
about how seizures start.
