# Bridging the micro and macro scales of seizure dynamics

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · 2022 · $75,481

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
In the most severe cases of epilepsy, where seizures persist despite multiple trials of anti-seizure medications,
patients may benefit from surgical removal of seizure-generating brain tissue. Prior to surgery, electrodes are
often implanted directly into or onto the patient’s brain and are used to continuously record electrical brain
activity over days. Ideally, this enables clinicians to capture seizure activity and determine its point of origin.
Then this information is used in combination with the results of brain imaging and other testing to guide
removal of brain tissue. While epilepsy surgery may lead to seizure freedom, 70-90% of surgery patients
remain on anti-seizure medications and roughly 50% of patients continue to have seizures. The fact that
seizures often persist after such a drastic, invasive procedure indicates that current methods for localization of
seizure-generating tissue are insufficient. Therefore, the long-term goal of this work is to improve the outcomes
of patients undergoing epilepsy surgery by developing more accurate methods to localize seizure-generating
tissue. However, in order to achieve accurate, patient-specific seizure localization and successful surgery,
there is a critical need to understand how seizures start and spread. Many studies have reported
electrophysiological characteristics of seizures, and these vary depending on the spatial scale at which they
are measured. Microelectrode arrays provide cellular-level electrophysiological detail, but only within a 4mm x
4mm area on a single gyrus. Standard clinical macroelectrodes provide broader spatial coverage, but they lack
the spatial resolution to accurately track seizure dynamics, leading to highly variable estimates of wave
sources and directions. Moreover, when measured at these two disparate scales, characteristics of the
complex electrical activity that occurs during a seizure can appear contradictory in nature. Therefore, a
significant barrier to our understanding of seizures is our inability to bridge the micro and macro spatial scales.
To address this, the overall objective of this proposal is to quantify and model seizure dynamics at an
intermediate spatial scale with high spatial and temporal resolution. The rationale is that this will unify our
understanding of seizure onset and spread across different spatial scales, ultimately improving our ability to
localize seizures and surgically treat epilepsy. To attain the overall objective, we will record seizures in patients
with refractory epilepsy using high-density subdural grids. Using this data, we will pursue the following specific
aims: (1) Quantify mesoscale cortical dynamics of seizure onset and spread. (2) Develop a mesoscale
mathematical model of non-uniform seizure wave propagation. Completion of these aims will provide an
unprecedented view of seizure dynamics at the millimeter scale, bridging the gap in spatial scales of existing
studies. This will have a positi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10574151
- **Project number:** 3R01NS116273-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Beth Ann Lopour
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $75,481
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-04-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10574151

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10574151, Bridging the micro and macro scales of seizure dynamics (3R01NS116273-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10574151. Licensed CC0.

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