Noise induced quiescence of epileptic spike generation in patients with epilepsy

In this study we show that epileptic discharges seen on scalp electroencephalographic recordings and background activity are driven at least partly by a common biological noise. Furthermore, our results indicate noise induced quiescence of spike generation which, in analogy with computational models of spiking, indicate spikes to be generated by transitions between semi-stable states of the brain, similar to the generation of epileptic seizure activity. The deepened physiological understanding of spike generation in epilepsy that this study provides could be useful in the electrophysiological assessment of different therapies for epilepsy including the effect of different drugs or electrical stimulation.
Source: Journal of Computational Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research