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Neuroimaging in Epilepsy

  • Epilepsy (CW Bazil, Section Editor)
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Abstract

In recent years, the field of neuroimaging has undergone dramatic development. Specifically, of importance for clinicians and researchers managing patients with epilepsies, new methods of brain imaging in search of the seizure-producing abnormalities have been implemented, and older methods have undergone additional refinement. Methodology to predict seizure freedom and cognitive outcome has also rapidly progressed. In general, the image data processing methods are very different and more complicated than even a decade ago. In this review, we identify the recent developments in neuroimaging that are aimed at improved management of epilepsy patients. Advances in structural imaging, diffusion imaging, fMRI, structural and functional connectivity, hybrid imaging methods, quantitative neuroimaging, and machine-learning are discussed. We also briefly summarize the potential new developments that may shape the field of neuroimaging in the near future and may advance not only our understanding of epileptic networks as the source of treatment-resistant seizures but also better define the areas that need to be treated in order to provide the patients with better long-term outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Birmingham, AL, USA

    Erik H. Middlebrooks

  2. Department of Neurology, UAB Epilepsy Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), 1719 6th Avenue South, CIRC 312, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA

    Lawrence Ver Hoef & Jerzy P. Szaflarski

  3. University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Birmingham VA Medical Center, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Lawrence Ver Hoef

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  1. Erik H. Middlebrooks
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  2. Lawrence Ver Hoef
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Correspondence to Jerzy P. Szaflarski.

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Conflict of Interest

Erik H. Middlebrooks declares no conflict of interest.

Larry Ver Hoef reports grants from National Institutes of Health.

Jerzy P. Szaflarski reports grants from the National Institutes of Health, NSF, Eisai, Inc., the Department of Defense, and Duke University/UCB Pharma. Dr. Szaflarski has also received personal fees from Serina Therapeutics, Inc., GW Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Upsher-Smith Laboratories, Inc., and grants and personal fees from NeuroPace, Inc., Sage Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Biomedical Systems.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

The data for Fig. 1 were obtained with the approval of the Institutional Review Board at the University of Alabama at Birmingham after obtaining written consent from the subjects.

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Funding

No funding was provided for this study. Data for Fig. 1 were obtained via grants K23EB008452 and R01NS094743 from the National Institutes of Health to LVH.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Epilepsy

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Middlebrooks, E.H., Ver Hoef, L. & Szaflarski, J.P. Neuroimaging in Epilepsy. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 17, 32 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-017-0746-x

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