Leon Isaemidis
Louisiana Tech University, USA
Title: The dynamics of epileptic seizures: prediction, resetting and control
Biography
Biography: Leon Isaemidis
Abstract
Epileptic seizures are the hallmark of epilepsy. Of the world’s 50 million people with epilepsy, fully 1/3 have seizures that are not controlled by current anti-epileptic medication. To capture the essential features underlying the transition of the epileptic brain to seizures, engineering technologies are used to monitor and decode brain signals, search for precursors of impending epileptic seizures, and intervene in time to avert seizure occurrences. This approach holds great promise to elucidate the dynamical mechanisms underlying the disorder, as well as to improve the effectiveness of new treatments for epilepsy, like neuromodulation of brain networks via intelligent stimulators. Examples of seizure prediction and brain resetting in humans and closed-loop seizure control with simulation and animal models of epilepsy will be presented. Broader application of these developments to complex systems requiring monitoring, forecasting and control is a natural outgrowth of this field.