Background: Despite the so-called "generalised" nature of many epileptic seizures, patient specific spatio-temporal properties have been shown using imaging data at the macroscopic level of the cortex. Previous computational models have failed to account for spatial heterogeneities at the scale of the entire cortex. Furthermore, one of they key benefits of developing a model is the ability to easily test stimulation protocols. Previous studies of generalised spike-wave (the hallmark of absence epilepsy) have abstracted away from this.METHODSIn this work we develop a set of models of epileptic activity, one of which is at the scale of the entire cortex and incorporates anatomically relevant connectivity from human subjects. A similar model incorporating physiologically relevant thalamocortical circuitry is developed in order to test hypotheses regarding stimulation protocols.RESULTSWe show that the model can account for large-scale spatio-temporal dynamics similar to those seen in epileptic patients. We demonstrate, using the model of thalamocortical interaction, that such a modelling approach can be used for the evaluation of stimulation protocols which are shown to successfully abort the seizure prematurely.CONCLUSIONThis work highlights the importance of computational modelling to support existing data and to make specific predictions regarding testable hypotheses. For example, a stimulus given at the correct time with the correct amplitude will stop the seizure.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:568653 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Taylor, Peter |
| Contributors | Baier, Gerold |
| Publisher | University of Manchester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/development-of-compartment-models-of-epileptic-spikewave-discharges(4f6f4ff6-f5cd-451f-a806-39590b58468e).html |
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