Location, time and type of epileptic activity influence how sleep modulates epilepsy
Sleep and epilepsy are tightly interconnected: On the one hand disturbed sleep is known to negatively affect epilepsy, whereas on the other hand epilepsy negatively impacts sleep. In this talk, we leverage on the unique opportunity provided by simultaneous stereo-EEG and sleep recordings to disentangle these relationships. We will discuss latest evidence on if anatomy (temporal vs. extratemporal), time (early vs. late sleep), and type of epileptic activity (ictal vs. interictal) influence how epileptic activity is modulated by sleep. After this talk, attendees will have a more nuanced understanding of the contributions of location, time and type of epileptic activity in the relationship between sleep and epilepsy.
Development of Interictal Networks: Implications for Epilepsy Progression and Cognition
Epilepsy is a common and disabling neurologic condition affecting adults and children that results from complex dysfunction of neural networks and is ineffectively treated with current therapies in up to one third of patients. This dysfunction can have especially severe consequences in pediatric age group, where neurodevelopment may be irreversibly affected. Furthermore, although seizures are the most obvious manifestation of epilepsy, the cognitive and psychiatric dysfunction that often coexists in patients with this disorder has the potential to be equally disabling. Given these challenges, her research program aims to better understand how epileptic activity disrupts the proper development and function of neural networks, with the overall goal of identifying novel biomarkers and systems level treatments for epileptic disorders and their comorbidities, especially those affecting children.