Human epileptic seizures mapped using functional MRI and EEG recorded simultaneously

The defining feature of Epilepsy is recurrent seizures (ictus), which are uncontrolled in around 30% of patients. Research efforts are currently focused on developing means of preventing, stopping and disrupting seizures. In this work we focus on ictiogenesis and in particular the transition to the ictal state. Although there is a substantial body of evidence supporting the concept of pre-ictal state, its characterization is incomplete. Using functional MRI combined with simultaneous scalp and intracranial EEG and video we can now characterize the interictal-ictal transition by identifying pathological patterns of activity prior to ictal onset and throughout the seizure, over the entire brain and map ictal brain networks with unprecedented sensitivity.