title: Controlling Cerebellar Output to Treat Refractory Epilepsy.
abstract: Generalized epilepsy is characterized by recurrent seizures caused by oscillatory neuronal firing throughout thalamocortical networks. Current therapeutic approaches often intervene at the level of the thalamus or cerebral cortex to ameliorate seizures. We review here the therapeutic potential of cerebellar stimulation. The cerebellum forms a prominent ascending input to the thalamus and, whereas stimulation of the foliated cerebellar cortex exerts inconsistent results, stimulation of the centrally located cerebellar nuclei (CN) reliably stops generalized seizures in experimental models. Stimulation of this area indicates that the period of stimulation with respect to the phase of the oscillations in thalamocortical networks can optimize its effect, opening up the possibility of developing on-demand deep brain stimulation (DBS) treatments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Wytemaweg 80, 3015 CN Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lieke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kros
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Wytemaweg 80, 3015 CN Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Oscar H J
authors.initials: OHJ
authors.lastname: Eelkman Rooda
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Wytemaweg 80, 3015 CN Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Dutch Academy for Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Chris I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: De Zeeuw
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, Wytemaweg 80, 3015 CN Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: f.hoebeek@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Freek E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Hoebeek
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D046690:Deep Brain Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D000069279:Drug Resistant Epilepsy / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D004829:Epilepsy, Generalized / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology; D055536:Vagus Nerve Stimulation
keywords: cerebellar nuclei; deep brain stimulation (DBS); refractory epilepsy