Premek Jiruska
Czech Academy of Sciences – Prague, Czech Republic.
Department of Developmental Epileptology
LECTURE: Synchronization and Desynchronization in Epilepsy: Controversies and Hypotheses.
Epilepsy has been historically seen as a functional brain disorder associated with excessive synchronization of large neuronal populations leading to a hypersynchronous state. Recent evidence showed that epileptiform phenomena, particularly seizures, result from complex interactions between neuronal networks characterized by heterogeneity of neuronal firing and dynamical evolution of synchronization.
Desynchronization is often observed preceding seizures or during their early stages; in contrast, high levels of synchronization observed towards the end of seizures may facilitate termination. In his talk, Premek Jiruska will discuss cellular and network mechanisms responsible for such complex changes in synchronization.