Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 109, Issue 51, Pages 21116-21121Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1210047110
Keywords
critical slowing down; epilepsy; electrocorticogram; local field potential
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Funding
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) [SNS062092]
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund
- National Institutes of Neurological Disorders [K01 NS057389, R01NS079533]
- NINDS [R01NS072023]
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Why seizures spontaneously terminate remains an unanswered fundamental question of epileptology. Here we present evidence that seizures self-terminate via a discontinuous critical transition or bifurcation. We show that human brain electrical activity at various spatial scales exhibits common dynamical signatures of an impending critical transition-slowing, increased correlation, and flickering-in the approach to seizure termination. In contrast, prolonged seizures (status epilepticus) repeatedly approach, but do not cross, the critical transition. To support these results, we implement a computational model that demonstrates that alternative stable attractors, representing the ictal and postictal states, emulate the observed dynamics. These results suggest that self-terminating seizures end through a common dynamical mechanism. This description constrains the specific biophysical mechanisms underlying seizure termination, suggests a dynamical understanding of status epilepticus, and demonstrates an accessible system for studying critical transitions in nature.
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