Thalamocortical regulation during normal development and in children with epilepsy

Project description

An “overfunction” of the thalamocortical system characterizes the so-called thalamocortical dysrhythmia (TCD), which is found in a variety of neurological diseases. Pathological findings in the interictal EEG and correlations of single-unit recordings and EEG give strong support for the presence of TCD in adult epilepsy patients. Although scalp EEG spectra have been successfully used as markers of brain state fluctuations and TCD, verification through direct recording from the thalamus has been limited to intracranial recordings in selected patients. Recent simultaneous EEG-fMRI confirmed coupled thalamic activation and cortical deactivation in epilepsy. However, these studies focused on interictal discharges (i.e. spikes), whereas the concept of TCD implies a more basic dysregulation also present in interictal segments without obvious discharges.

In the current study we aim to investigate resting state regulation in both pediatric and adult patients with epilepsy using EEG and fMRI.

Collaborations

Prof. Daniel Brandeis, Zentrum für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, Universität Zürich

Prof. Daniel Jeanmonod, Abteilung für funktionelle Neurochirurgie, Universitätsspital Zürich

Contacts

Prof. Ernst Martin
ernst.martinkispi.uzh.ch

Dr. Lars Michels
lars.michelskispi.uzh.ch

Former collaborators

Dr. Kerstin Bucher

Funding Source

Schwyzer Stiftung, Zürich
Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP)

Project duration

Jan. 2008 – Dec. 2010

Publications

Michels L, Bucher K, Lüchinger R, Klaver P, Martin E, Jeanmonod D, Brandeis D. Simultaneous EEG-fMRI during a working memory task: modulations in low and high frequency bands. (submitted)

Poster: ZIHP Poster Kerstin Bucher et al. 2008

 ZIHP Poster [714.3 KB]