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Modular Signatures and Neural Avalanches in Epileptic Brain Networks

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Recent Advances on the Modular Organization of the Cortex

Abstract

Epileptic seizures are characterized by a rich dynamic spectrum consisting of excessive, abnormal and synchronized firing of neuron ensembles. Such abnormal firing has been quantitatively characterized via power laws in neural avalanches. The term “neural avalanche” has been used to illustrate the excessively amplified neural firing patterns that lead to epileptic seizures. The pattern of amplified firing in neural avalanches betrays a modular signature in the spread of activation across cortical minicolumns. According to this modular approach of epilepsy, the excessive amplification of neural firing in a cortical minicolumn results from a defect within the “inhibitory curtain” surrounding the pyramidal cells. The functional basis of this approach provides insights into potential clinical interventions.

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Acknowledgments

Ana Ciurea was supported by the strategic grant POSDRU/159/1.5/S/133652, “Integrated system to improve the quality of doctoral and postdoctoral research in Romania and promotion of the role of science in society” cofinanced by the European Social Found within the Sectorial Operational Program Human Resources Development 2007–2013.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurosurgery Department, Bagdasar-Arseni Hospital; and Physics Department, University of Bucharest, București, Romania

    Ana Ciurea

  2. Neurology Department, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy; and Neurology Department, University Emergency Hospital, București, Romania

    Ioana Mîndruţă

  3. Neurology Department, University Emergency Hospital, București, Romania

    Mihai Dragos Maliiă

  4. Applied Electronics and Information Engineering Department, Medical Electronics and Computing, București, Romania

    Alexe Ciurea

  5. Neurosurgery Department, Bagdasar-Arseni Hospital, București, Romania

    Jean Ciurea

  6. Physics Department, University of Bucharest, București, Romania

    Andrei Barborică & Cristian Donos

  7. Department of Psychiatry, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA

    Manuel F. Casanova M.D.

  8. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC, 27103, USA

    Ioan Opris Ph.D.

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  1. Ana Ciurea
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  3. Mihai Dragos Maliiă
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  8. Manuel F. Casanova M.D.
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  9. Ioan Opris Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Ioan Opris Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA

    Manuel F. Casanova

  2. Dept. of Physiology & Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

    Ioan Opris

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Ciurea, A. et al. (2015). Modular Signatures and Neural Avalanches in Epileptic Brain Networks. In: Casanova, M., Opris, I. (eds) Recent Advances on the Modular Organization of the Cortex. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9900-3_15

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