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Epilepsy and Seizures: Overview

Epilepsy and Seizures: Overview

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease marked by recurrent, unpredictable seizures. These seizures are caused by abnormal electrical discharges in the brain, leading to behavior, sensation, or consciousness alterations. They can also cause transient impairment of awareness, interfering with daily activities.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Electromagnetic Source Imaging in Presurgical Evaluation of Children with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

Electromagnetic Source Imaging in Presurgical Evaluation of Children with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

Published on: September 20, 2024

Advances in MRI for 'cryptogenic' epilepsies.

Andrea Bernasconi¹, Neda Bernasconi, Boris C Bernhardt

¹Neuroimaging of Epilepsy Laboratory, Department of Neurology and McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Canada. andrea.bernasconi@mcgill.ca

Nature Reviews. Neurology

|January 19, 2011

Summary

Advanced MRI techniques improve surgical targeting for drug-resistant focal epilepsy. Quantitative imaging reveals subtle lesions in

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A Multimodal Imaging- and Stimulation-based Method of Evaluating Connectivity-related Brain Excitability in Patients with Epilepsy

A Multimodal Imaging- and Stimulation-based Method of Evaluating Connectivity-related Brain Excitability in Patients with Epilepsy

Published on: November 13, 2016

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Last Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Electromagnetic Source Imaging in Presurgical Evaluation of Children with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

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A Multimodal Imaging- and Stimulation-based Method of Evaluating Connectivity-related Brain Excitability in Patients with Epilepsy

A Multimodal Imaging- and Stimulation-based Method of Evaluating Connectivity-related Brain Excitability in Patients with Epilepsy

Published on: November 13, 2016

Area of Science:

Neurology
Neurosurgery
Medical Imaging

Background:

Drug-resistant focal epilepsy affects nearly one-third of patients, often requiring surgical intervention.
Conventional MRI may fail to identify the precise surgical target in many epilepsy cases, particularly 'cryptogenic' epilepsy.
Subtle cortical dysplasia is increasingly recognized as the underlying cause in previously undiagnosed epilepsy.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the application of advanced brain imaging techniques in diagnosing and localizing epileptic lesions.
To highlight how quantitative MRI methods enhance the diagnostic yield for surgical planning in epilepsy.

Main Methods:

Review of recent advances in brain imaging, including MRI morphometry, computational modeling, and diffusion tensor imaging.
Focus on quantitative structural MRI methods for detecting subtle dysplastic lesions.

Main Results:

Advanced quantitative MRI methods have demonstrated increased diagnostic accuracy in identifying epileptic lesions.
These techniques reveal subtle cortical dysplasias that are often missed by visual MRI assessment.
Improved lesion detection facilitates surgical options for patients with previously 'cryptogenic' epilepsy.

Conclusions:

Quantitative structural MRI significantly improves the detection of epileptic lesions, especially in 'cryptogenic' cases.
Advanced imaging provides crucial information for successful surgical treatment of drug-resistant focal epilepsy.
These methods offer new hope for patients with epilepsy refractory to medication.