High frequency oscillations (HFOs >80 Hz) have been intensively discussed as biomarkers for epileptogenic tissue in the hippocampus for more than a decade. If HFOs, and especially Fast Ripples (FR, >250 Hz), are detected in the tissue during the invasive pre-surgical examination, the resection of this tissue is a specific predictor for postoperative seizure freedom. The validity of HFO as biomarker extends to other structures of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and other areas of cortex.
Can those HFOs, which are a biomarker of pathology, be confounded with HFOs that occur during healthy brain function? The first physiological HFOs were identified in rat hippocampus, where ripples (80-250 Hz) contribute to spatial processing. The visual cortex and the somatosensory cortex abound with HFO that seem unrelated to the epileptogenicity of the tissue - they mask possible pathological HFO and render HFO analysis not applicable in these brain areas. HFOs are certainly a part of the repertoire of oscillations in the healthy cortex. Therefore, in the MTL, the relationship between pathological and healthy HFO is a current research topic of high interest.
This Research Topic welcome publications that investigate how the appearance of HFO is modulated in the brain. Among the underlying long-term causes may be structural brain modifications due to dual pathology or atrophy in the MTL. Alternatively, can the occurrence of physiologial HFO interfere with the interpretation of HFO as markers of epileptic brain regions?
We expect that this Research Topic will shed light on the pathophysiology of HFO in epilepsy.
High frequency oscillations (HFOs >80 Hz) have been intensively discussed as biomarkers for epileptogenic tissue in the hippocampus for more than a decade. If HFOs, and especially Fast Ripples (FR, >250 Hz), are detected in the tissue during the invasive pre-surgical examination, the resection of this tissue is a specific predictor for postoperative seizure freedom. The validity of HFO as biomarker extends to other structures of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and other areas of cortex.
Can those HFOs, which are a biomarker of pathology, be confounded with HFOs that occur during healthy brain function? The first physiological HFOs were identified in rat hippocampus, where ripples (80-250 Hz) contribute to spatial processing. The visual cortex and the somatosensory cortex abound with HFO that seem unrelated to the epileptogenicity of the tissue - they mask possible pathological HFO and render HFO analysis not applicable in these brain areas. HFOs are certainly a part of the repertoire of oscillations in the healthy cortex. Therefore, in the MTL, the relationship between pathological and healthy HFO is a current research topic of high interest.
This Research Topic welcome publications that investigate how the appearance of HFO is modulated in the brain. Among the underlying long-term causes may be structural brain modifications due to dual pathology or atrophy in the MTL. Alternatively, can the occurrence of physiologial HFO interfere with the interpretation of HFO as markers of epileptic brain regions?
We expect that this Research Topic will shed light on the pathophysiology of HFO in epilepsy.