Seizure Location Using Signal Processing Techniques

Columbia University Health Sciences, New York NY

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A program of research and career development has been designed for the P.I. to devise new methods for interpreting long-term intracranial electroencephalograms (EEG) of epilepsy patients. Intracranial monitoring has been established as the most specific method of seizure localization prior to resective epilepsy surgery. Existing methods of interpretation have proven inadequate for seizures originating in neocortex. Quantitative techniques drawn from the field of signal processing can be applied to EEG signals to reveal spatio- temporal patterns that provide clues to the seizure origin. Mapping of abnormalities in neuronal network organization in the brains of epilepsy patients will be performed, with validation of abnormal findings by evaluation of synchrony and current source density analysis in comparable recordings obtained from normal macaque monkeys. These findings, together with the behavior of EEG recordings during epileptic seizures, will be studied to define ictal EEG patterns and gain insight into their underlying mechanisms of epileptogenesis. This will provide a framework for the formulation of methods for the accurate interpretation of intracranial recordings. A formal training program has been designed for the P.I. specifically tailored to her academic needs, complementing her prior clinical training and experience in engineering and mathematics. This will include: mentoring by experts in electrophysiology, signal processing, primate studies and clinical epileptology, and course work in biomedical signal processing, statistics and research ethics. The goal of this coordinated program of research and training is to complete the preparation of the P.I. for a career as an independent researcher, with the skills to perform multidisciplinary collaborative investigation and a developed capacity to define new directions for research in electrophysiology and epilepsy.