How to record high-frequency oscillations in epilepsy: A practical guideline

Technology for localizing epileptogenic brain regions plays a central role in surgical planning. Recent improvements in acquisition and electrode technology have revealed that high-frequency oscillations (HFOs) within the 80-500 Hz frequency range provide the neurophysiologist with new information about the extent of the epileptogenic tissue in addition to ictal and interictal lower frequency events. Nevertheless, two decades after their discovery there remain questions about HFOs as biomarkers of epileptogenic brain and there use in clinical practice.

In this review, we provide practical, technical guidance for epileptologists and clinical researchers on recording, evaluation, and interpretation of ripples, fast ripples, and very high-frequency oscillations.

We emphasize the importance of low noise recording to minimize artifacts. HFO analysis, either visual or with automatic detection methods, of high fidelity recordings can still be challenging because of various artifacts including muscle, movement, and filtering. Magnetoencephalography and intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) recordings are subject to the same artifacts.

High-frequency oscillations are promising new biomarkers in epilepsy. This review provides interested researchers and clinicians with a review of current state of the art of recording and identification and potential challenges to clinical translation.