Exploring the tolerability of spatiotemporally complex electrical stimulation paradigms

The genetic absence epilepsy rat from Strasbourg as a model to decipher the neuronal and network mechanisms of generalized idiopathic epilepsies

“…However, these studies also revealed that continuous stimulation of these structures rapidly lead to a lack of response, probably due to a refractory period after each stimulation. Responsive approaches where stimulation is triggered at seizure onset after being detected online by processing brain signals (Kossoff et al, 2004;Osorio et al, 2005;Nelson et al, 2011) therefore appeared more appropriate, especially when seizure are frequent as it is the case in GAERS, as well as in some patients with absence epilepsy. Responsive stimulation offers three main potential advantages for clinical use when compared to continuous DBS: (i) a reduced power consumption of brain stimulators; (ii) a reduced neural adaptation to external stimulation; (iii) reduced behavioral or physiological side-effects (Fig.…”

neuroBi: A Highly Configurable Neurostimulator for a Retinal Prosthesis and Other Applications

“…Additionally, with relatively minor modifications, the switch array can be expanded to 128 channels and setup to route electrode connections to external recording equipment when not being used for stimulation. Currently, neuroBi is being used preclinically to test spatiotemporally complex patterns of stimulation that have been proposed for suppressing epileptic seizures [40] and is being integrated into an existing closed-loop system for epileptic seizure detection and suppression [30] , [40] . It is also intended that neuroBi will be used in a seizure prediction system that probes cortical excitability using subdural electrodes [31] , for cortical mapping prior to surgical resection, and in a closed-loop deep brain stimulation system.…”

Experimental Treatment Options in Absence Epilepsy

“…However, these studies also revealed that open loop or 'continuous stimulation of these structures rapidly lead to a lack of response, probably due to a refractory period after each single stimulation'. Therefore,closed loop stimulation protocols, in which electrical stimulation will be triggered by seizure onset detected in real-time by the analyses of the ongoing EEG signals might be more appropriate [124][125][126][127][128], in particular when the seizure occurrence is high. It is obvious that this is indeed the casein the genetic animal models and inunmedicated AE patients.…”