title: Mapping epileptic activity: sources or networks for the clinicians?
abstract: Epileptic seizures of focal origin are classically considered to arise from a focal epileptogenic zone and then spread to other brain regions. This is a key concept for semiological electro-clinical correlations, localization of relevant structural lesions, and selection of patients for epilepsy surgery. Recent development in neuro-imaging and electro-physiology and combinations, thereof, have been validated as contributory tools for focus localization. In parallel, these techniques have revealed that widespread networks of brain regions, rather than a single epileptogenic region, are implicated in focal epileptic activity. Sophisticated multimodal imaging and analysis strategies of brain connectivity patterns have been developed to characterize the spatio-temporal relationships within these networks by combining the strength of both techniques to optimize spatial and temporal resolution with whole-brain coverage and directional connectivity. In this paper, we review the potential clinical contribution of these functional mapping techniques as well as invasive electrophysiology in human beings and animal models for characterizing network connectivity.
authors.affiliation: EEG and Epilepsy Unit, Neurology Department, University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine of Geneva , Geneva , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pittau
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Multimodal Human Brain Mapping, Hofstra North Shore LIJ School of Medicine , Manhasset, NY , USA.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mégevand
authors.affiliation: Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Geneva , Geneva , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sheybani
authors.affiliation: Support Center of Advanced Neuroimaging (SCAN), Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University Hospital Inselspital , Bern , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Abela
authors.affiliation: Radiology Department, University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine of Geneva , Geneva , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Grouiller
authors.affiliation: EEG and Epilepsy Unit, Neurology Department, University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine of Geneva , Geneva , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Spinelli
authors.affiliation: Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Geneva , Geneva , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christoph M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.affiliation: EEG and Epilepsy Unit, Neurology Department, University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine of Geneva , Geneva , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Margitta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seeck
authors.affiliation: EEG and Epilepsy Unit, Neurology Department, University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine of Geneva , Geneva , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vulliemoz
keywords: EEG; MEG; animal model; connectivity; epilepsy; fMRI; intracranial EEG; resting-state network