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Updated: May 27, 2026

Network Analysis of Foramen Ovale Electrode Recordings in Drug-resistant Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Patients
Published on: December 18, 2016
Nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy: new pathophysiological interpretations
Paolo Tinuper1, Francesca Bisulli, Federica Provini
1IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche, University of Bologna, Via Ugo Foscolo 7, 40123 Bologna, Italy. paolo.tinuper@unibo.it
Abstract:
Since the first descriptions of Nocturnal Frontal Lobe Epilepsy (NFLE) many theories have been proposed to explain its pathophysiological mechanisms. The aim of this paper is to formulate a tentative hypothesis designed to unify the clinical, anatomo-physiological, and genetic aspects underlying this condition. According to this hypothesis, NFLE is due to a disorder in the thalamocortical circuit involved in the arousal mechanism. Other cortical-networks involving the limbic system may explain, for instance, primitive behaviors. The role of the cholinergic system and related pathways in the pathogenesis of nocturnal seizures and parasomnias is also discussed.
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