Integrating Network Neuroscience Into Epilepsy Care: Progress, Barriers, and Next Steps

Nishant Sinha; Graham W Johnson; Kathryn A Davis; Dario J Englot

doi:10.1177/15357597221101271

Integrating Network Neuroscience Into Epilepsy Care: Progress, Barriers, and Next Steps

Epilepsy Curr. 2022 May 13;22(5):272-278. doi: 10.1177/15357597221101271. eCollection 2022 Sep-Oct.

Authors

Nishant Sinha^{1

2

3}, Graham W Johnson^{4

5

3}, Kathryn A Davis^{1

2

3}, Dario J Englot^{4

5

6

7

8

3}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Neuroengineering and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA, USA.
² Department of Neurology, Penn Epilepsy Center, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
³ Signify equal contribution.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
⁵ Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
⁶ Department of Neurological Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
⁷ Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
⁸ Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.

Abstract

Drug resistant epilepsy is a disorder involving widespread brain network alterations. Recently, many groups have reported neuroimaging and electrophysiology network analysis techniques to aid medical management, support presurgical planning, and understand postsurgical seizure persistence. While these approaches may supplement standard tests to improve care, they are not yet used clinically or influencing medical or surgical decisions. When will this change? Which approaches have shown the most promise? What are the barriers to translating them into clinical use? How do we facilitate this transition? In this review, we will discuss progress, barriers, and next steps regarding the integration of brain network analysis into the medical and presurgical pipeline.

Keywords: clinical translation; electrophysiology; epilepsy; networks; neuroimaging.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

R01 NS116504/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States