New observations may inform seizure models: very fast and very slow oscillations

Epilepsy is a common and disabling disorder which fails to respond to drug treatment in about 30% of cases. The key feature of epilepsy is the apparently unexpected occurrence of seizures, accompanied by typical high-amplitude synchronised oscillations recorded with scalp electroencephalogram (EEG), or occasionally with intracranial EEG in patients undergoing neurosurgery. A wide variety of theoretical and computational models of epilepsy has provided some insights into how seizures might emerge. However, these models have mostly been based on classical EEG phenomena and experimental animal models, and may not capture all the relevant features of human epilepsy. In particular, evidence has accumulated showing that very localised high-frequency oscillations may be characteristic of seizure onsets, and that seizure susceptibility fluctuates at long timescales of hours or days. These aspects are discussed from a cross-disciplinary perspective, with the aim that future collaborations between theoreticians, experimentalists and clinicians may greatly improve seizure models and the future treatment of this devastating disorder.