Thursday, February 24, 2005
Brain Storm
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley applied mathematical models normally used to spot trends in the stock market, weather and other complex random events to track "electrical storms" in the human brain during epileptic seizures. They hope that the results will point them to methods to stop seizures and move treatment beyond lobectomies.
The researchers found that during a seizure, "a strong pattern of electrical signals suddenly emerges from the random fluctuations that characterize normal brain activity." The strong waves moving across the cortex may cause sudden, unpredictable sensations or uncontrollable movements. "Normal brain waves would resemble jagged lines with no apparent pattern or order on an electroencephalogram (EEG)," said Andrew Szeri, UC Berkeley professor of mechanical engineering and applied science and technology, and principal investigator of the study. "But in the brains of epilepsy patients, the spreading of a seizure is made manifest by strong coherent waves of electrical activity in the cortex."
The mathematical model used stochastic partial differential equations to describe the architecture of the brain. "The model could provide insight into the pathophysiology of the spread of a seizure," said Heidi Kirsch, assistant professor of neurology at UC San Francisco's Epilepsy Center. "Further down the line, this could also help us model the impact of medications and other interventions, to theoretically test how drugs with certain mechanisms will impact the brain."
Examples of potential therapies to stop seizures include "focal cooling, in which the part of the brain experiencing a seizure is literally chilled to dampen the seizure, and electrical stimulation of the affected area of the brain to counter the seizure as it's forming."
The researchers found that during a seizure, "a strong pattern of electrical signals suddenly emerges from the random fluctuations that characterize normal brain activity." The strong waves moving across the cortex may cause sudden, unpredictable sensations or uncontrollable movements. "Normal brain waves would resemble jagged lines with no apparent pattern or order on an electroencephalogram (EEG)," said Andrew Szeri, UC Berkeley professor of mechanical engineering and applied science and technology, and principal investigator of the study. "But in the brains of epilepsy patients, the spreading of a seizure is made manifest by strong coherent waves of electrical activity in the cortex."
The mathematical model used stochastic partial differential equations to describe the architecture of the brain. "The model could provide insight into the pathophysiology of the spread of a seizure," said Heidi Kirsch, assistant professor of neurology at UC San Francisco's Epilepsy Center. "Further down the line, this could also help us model the impact of medications and other interventions, to theoretically test how drugs with certain mechanisms will impact the brain."
Examples of potential therapies to stop seizures include "focal cooling, in which the part of the brain experiencing a seizure is literally chilled to dampen the seizure, and electrical stimulation of the affected area of the brain to counter the seizure as it's forming."
