Kavli Affiliate: Edward Chang
| Authors: Matthew Elliott, John P. Andrews, Tjitse van der Molen, Jinghui Geng, Alex Spaeth, Anna Toledo, Kateryna Voitiuk, Cordero Core, Thomas Gillespie, Ari Sinervo, David F. Parks, Ash Robbins, Daniel Solis, Edward F. Chang, Tomasz J Nowakowski, Mircea Teodorescu, David Haussler and Tal Sharf
| Summary:
How seizures begin at the level of microscopic neural circuits remains unknown. Advancements in high-density CMOS microelectrode arrays can be harnessed to study neuronal network activity with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. We use high-density CMOS microelectrode arrays to probe the network activity of human hippocampal brain slices from six patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. Two slices from the dentate gyrus exhibited epileptiform activity in the presence of low magnesium media with kainic acid. Both slices displayed an electrophysiological phenotype consistent with a reciprocally connected circuit, suggesting a recurrent feedback loop is a key driver of epileptiform onset. Larger prospective studies are needed, but these findings have the potential to elucidate the network signals that underly the initiation of seizure behavior.