Subthalamic and Thalamic Stereotactic Recordings and Stimulations in Patients with Intractable Epilepsy

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Various subcortical structures in the brain are thought to be important in genesis or propagation of seizures. Deep Brain Stimulation of these structures aims to influence these key pacemaker areas in the brain and is gaining increasing interest as a possible new surgical modality for treatment of patients with intractable epilepsy. Based on this background, this volume brings together the experience of the Zurich Epilepsy Surgery Center with stereotactic recordings and stimulations of various subcortical nuclei, with special reference to the Forel H fields, the thalamic nuclei and the periaqueductal gray matter. This volume also addresses the important issues of DC recording/polarisation and of biochemical measurement of excitatory and inhibitory transmitters released in the primary epileptogenic area during epileptic discharges. This book is destined to improve understanding of the involvement of subcortical structures in seizure genesis or propagation in a time when exhaustive invasive presurgical evaluation is diminishing because of the today s availability of modern non-invasive imaging technique.