Epilepsy as a network disease

ICNC2024
Symposia: Epilepsy As A Brain Network Disease: Implications For The Clinician

Epilepsy as a network disease
Lieven Lagae

The concept of the human brain as a network has resulted in a paradigm shift in the recognition of epilepsy as an archetypical network disease. A network representation of epilepsy offers an effective basis for understanding how seizures begin, propagate, terminate, and even have long-term neuropsychological effects. Epilepsy is considered, with seizures and interictal activity originating and propagating in networks involving neocortical, thalamo-cortical, limbic, and brainstem structures. Histopathological and neuroimaging studies including both focal and generalized epilepsies have revealed structural and functional compromise across widespread brain networks. Epileptic children frequently exhibit cognitive comorbidity and may have extensive network abnormalities beyond the epileptic zone, which may impact a variety of cognitive functions and global intelligence. Understanding the network mechanisms of epilepsy and its comorbidities allows us to identify the primary source of epilepsy in the network and predict the clinical course and long-term outcome, which aids in the selection of appropriate therapies to counteract the effect of abnormal network.

Other lectures in this symposium:
Neuronal connectivity in self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes

Neuronal connectivity in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex and related mTORopathies.
Brain connectivity with EEG and neuroradiologic modalities in developmental epileptic encephalopathy with spike-and-wave activation in sleep