RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Neuronal network models of epileptogenesis
JF Neurosciences Journal
JO Neurosciences (Riyadh)
FD Prince Sultan Military Medical City
SP 85
OP 93
DO 10.17712/nsj.2017.2.20160455
VO 22
IS 2
A1 Abdullahi, Aminu T.
A1 Adamu, Lawan H.
YR 2017
UL http://nsj.org.sa/content/22/2/85.abstract
AB Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition, following some trigger, transforming a normal brain to one that produces recurrent unprovoked seizures. In the search for the mechanisms that best explain the epileptogenic process, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that the epilepsies are network level disorders. In this review, we briefly describe the concept of neuronal networks and highlight 2 methods used to analyse such networks. The first method, graph theory, is used to describe general characteristics of a network to facilitate comparison between normal and abnormal networks. The second, dynamic causal modelling, is useful in the analysis of the pathways of seizure spread. We concluded that the end results of the epileptogenic process are best understood as abnormalities of neuronal circuitry and not simply as molecular or cellular abnormalities. The network approach promises to generate new understanding and more targeted treatment of epilepsy.