title: Deep brain stimulation for the treatment of epilepsy: circuits, targets, and trials.
abstract: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has proven remarkably safe and effective in the treatment of movement disorders. As a result, it is being increasingly applied to a range of neurologic and psychiatric disorders, including medically refractory epilepsy. This review will examine the use of DBS in epilepsy, including known targets, mechanisms of neuromodulation and seizure control, published clinical evidence, and novel technologies. Cortical and deep neuromodulation for epilepsy has a long experimental history, but only recently have better understanding of epileptogenic networks, precise stereotactic techniques, and rigorous trial design combined to improve the quality of available evidence and make DBS a viable treatment option. Nonetheless, underlying mechanisms, anatomical targets, and stimulation parameters remain areas of active investigation.
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, Emory University School of Medicine, 1365 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
authors: Nealen G
authors: NG
authors: Laxpati
authors: Willard S
authors: WS
authors: Kasoff
authors: Robert E
authors: RE
authors: Gross
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D046690:Deep Brain Stimulation; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans