Synchronization Implies Seizure or Seizure Implies Synchronization?

TL;DR

This study analyzes ECoG signals from epileptic patients to determine whether synchronization causes seizures or results from them, finding synchronization typically occurs after seizure onset, suggesting it is an effect rather than a cause.

Contribution

The paper provides evidence that synchronization in epileptic seizures is a consequence, not a cause, of seizure activity, based on analysis of multiple measures across numerous patients.

Findings

Synchronization occurs after seizure onset in most cases.

Extracellular acidosis may induce synchrony in seizure networks.

Seizure termination might be achieved through increased neuronal coherence.

Abstract

Epileptic seizures are considered as abnormally hypersynchronous neuronal activities of the brain. Do hypersynchronous neuronal activities in a brain region lead to seizure or the hypersynchronous activities take place due to the progression of the seizure? We have examined the ECoG signals of 21 epileptic patients consisting of 87 focal-onset seizures by three different measures namely, phase synchronization, amplitude correlation and simultaneous occurrence of peaks and troughs. Each of the measures indicates that for a majority of the focal-onset seizures, synchronization or correlation or simultaneity occurs towards the end of the seizure or even after the offset rather than at the onset or in the beginning or during the progression of the seizure. We also have outlined how extracellular acidosis caused due to the seizure in the focal zone can induce synchrony in the seizure generating network. This implies synchronization is an effect rather than the cause of a significant number of pharmacologically intractable focal-onset seizures. Since all the seizures that we have tested belong to the pharmacologically intractable class, their termination through more coherent neuronal activities may lead to new and effective ways of discovery and testing of drugs.