The neocortico to mesio-basal limbic propagation of focal epileptic activity during the spike-wave complex

In order to localize epileptogenic electrophysiological sources, a multichannel MEG system was used in 3 patients with partial epilepsy during presurgical evaluation. MEG and EEG (including scalp, sphenoidal and intracranial foramen ovale electrodes) were recorded simultaneously during a period of intensive video-EEG monitoring in order to observe single spontaneous spikes. In addition to MRI, SPECT and PET investigations were performed. Electrical activity subsequent to the activity of the epileptic focus could be localized by the MEG after noise reduction using a temporal correlation technique. Simultaneous registration of the magnetic field and the electrical field showed that the source of the primary focal epileptic activity (first period during the total spike wave complex where a dipolar magnetic field pattern is found) is localized in neocortical lateral regions, whereas another focal epileptic activity in a later phase of propagation occurs in temporal mesial regions. In 1 patient (case 1) the primary focal epileptic activity was localized in the surrounding neocortical tissue of an angioma and the middle and inferior temporal gyrus. The second phase of propagation is localized in temporo-basal-mesial regions, including para- and hippocampal structures. The latest center of activity occurred in posterior parts of the gyrus cinguli. In 2 other patients, the primary focal epileptogenic activity was localized at the insula and also spread into temporal basal mesial regions. A multi-modal approach to research of focal epilepsy, combining metabolic, electrical potential, magnetoencephalographic and morphological data, recorded by non-invasive techniques, offers new perspectives for the detection of involved brain regions. The 3-D and time-resolved localization of focal epileptic activity, correlated with the individual anatomy of the human brain, may improve the determination of neuronal populations involved in the individual epileptogenic process, especially in the interaction between temporal or extratemporal neocortex and limbic system.