Invited Review: Clinical and Basic Neurophysiology of Generalised Epilepsies

Abstract

Electroencephalography (EEG) clarifies several aspects of generalised epileptic seizures and epilepsies. For the clinician, it assists in the diagnosis of the epileptic condition and helps assign the disorder to an appropriate syndrome. This assignation and the quantity of epileptic discharges estimate severity and prognosis. When combined with relevant basic science investigations, EEG studies may disclose significant pathophysiological mechanisms. Therefore, this paper first describes EEG characteristics of the several disorders included under the broad category of “generalised”. The review then relates these phenomena to germane experimental data intending that this binocular survey will provide a more meaningful perspective of these disorders.

Electroencephalographic Characterization of Spike‐Wave Discharges in Cortex and Thalamus in WAG/Rij Rats

“…The latter theory (Meeren et al, 2002, 2005) supported the view of clinical epileptologists that spike‐and‐wave seizures are not fully generalized (Holmes et al, 2004; Craiu et al, 2006). In addition to individual and topographic variations (Weir, 1965; Lemieux and Blume, 1986; Blume and Lemieux, 1988; Blume, 2002), there are also substantial variations in morphology of SWD in different forms of epilepsy. For instance, multiple spikes in spike‐and‐slow‐wave complexes (“multiple spike‐and‐slow‐wave complexes”) are common for absences during sleep and for absence epilepsy with older age of onset (Chatrian et al, 1974; Panayiotopoulos, 1999, 2005).…”