title: Distributed control in a mean-field cortical network model: implications for seizure suppression.
abstract: Brain electrical stimulation (BES) has long been suggested as a means of controlling pathological brain activity. In epilepsy, control of a spatially localized source, the seizure focus, may normalize neuronal dynamics. Consequently, most BES research has been directed at controlling small, local, neuronal populations. At a higher level, pathological seizure activity can be viewed as a network event that may begin without a clear spatial focus or in multiple sites and spread rapidly through a distributed cortical network. In this paper, we begin to address the implications of local control in a network scenario. To do so, we explore the efficacy of local BES when deployed over a larger-scale neuronal network, for instance, using a grid of stimulating electrodes on the cortex. By introducing a mean-field model of neuronal interactions we are able to identify limitations in network controllability based on physiological constraints that suggest the need for more nuanced network control strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care & Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA. shinung@mit.edu
authors.forename: ShiNung
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ching
authors.forename: Emery N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kramer
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012640:Seizures / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D013569:Synapses / Q000473:pathology