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Deep Brain Stimulation in Epilepsy

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Deep Brain Stimulation in Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Neurology ((CCNEU))

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Abstract

Epilepsy describes a variety of disorders in which the brain produces recurrent seizures—events characterized by abnormal, hypersynchronous neuronal activity. Although numerous etiologies underlie epilepsy, ranging from genetic susceptibility to acquired lesions of the brain, the net result is a paroxysmal disruption of cerebral electrical activity. It therefore seems appealing to apply electrical stimulation to combat the storms of electricity that erupt in the epileptic brain. Indeed, neurostimulation has been applied to epilepsy in a variety of ways, both in animal models and in humans with various forms of epilepsy. Approaches have included stimulation of cranial nerves, particularly the vagus nerve (the only Food and Drug Administration [FDA]-approved neurostimulation therapy for epilepsy at the present time), and direct stimulation of cortical epileptogenic regions. This chapter focuses on the application of stimulation to deep brain structures in an effort to treat epileptic disorders.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    William J. Marks Jr.

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  1. William J. Marks Jr.
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Daniel Tarsy MD  & Daniel Tarsy MD  & 

  2. Neuromodulation Research Center, Lerner Research Institute, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Jerrold L. Vitek MD, PhD

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Philip A. Starr MD, PhD

  4. Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Michael S. Okun MD

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© 2008 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Marks, W.J. (2008). Deep Brain Stimulation in Epilepsy. In: Tarsy, D., Vitek, J.L., Starr, P.A., Okun, M.S. (eds) Deep Brain Stimulation in Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders. Current Clinical Neurology. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-360-8_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-360-8_28

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-952-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-360-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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