Antiepileptic drugs can be used to effectively control many seizure disorders, including epilepsy. They work through two broad mechanisms: 1.) Addressing problems with ionic balance that cause increased excitability of neurons, and/or 2.) Promoting inhibitory processes. 

Antiepileptic Drugs 

Starting in the 1940s, a small group of individuals had a procedure done where their corpus callosum was surgically split. This was done to provide relief from epileptic seizures that would start in one hemisphere and spread to the other. These procedures were very rare, with some only having partial splits. Because of this, only about 10 people have been fully studied.

Brief History of Brain Splitting Procedure

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

An episode where the electrical activity in the brain is synchronized, causing the brain to excite continuously. It is seen in EEGs as a "spike and wave" pattern.

Seizures

Breedlove, S. & Watson, N. (2017). Behavioral neuroscience, eighth edition. Oxford University Press.

Behavioral Neuroscience 8th Edition

Epilepsy

A type of seizure where the person loses consciousness and has two types of convulsions. There is a tonic contraction of the muscles where the person stays rigid. Then there are clonic contractions and relaxations where the person is tremoring. A person may feel confused or sleepy following the seizure. 

Tonic-Clonic Seizures

A type of generalized seizure where a person becomes unaware of their surroundings, stops anything they are doing, and sustains staring. They cannot recall events that occurred during the seizure. There are no convulsions. Abnormalities in the gross electrical activity of the brain are evident through characteristic spike-and-wave EEG activity for 5-15 seconds at a time. 

Simple Partial Seizures

A type of seizure where the entire brain is not affected. As a result, many different symptoms can arise. An unusual sensation called an aura usually comes before the symptoms.

Complex Partial Seizures

A documentation of spontaneous gross electrical activity of the brain recorded by placing electrodes on the scalp. The measured electrical activity is not prompted by particular stimuli, and may also be referred to as "brain waves."  

Electroencephalogram (EEG) 

Kindling is an experimental technique that involves exposing non-human animals to weak, repeated electrical stimulation that over time may generate epileptic seizures. Therefore, kindling (in the form of continued epileptic seizures in human beings) is thought to make tissue more epilepsy-prone. 

Kindling

As NMJ electrophysiology is performed in third instar larvae, the method is not easily applied to longitudinal studies. The giant fiber system (GFS) in adult flies, however, is amenable to in vivo electrophysiology. Electrodes are applied to the eye, stimulating the giant fiber neurons in the brain. The GFS then activates the fly’s “flight” muscles in response to change in light exposure. GFS recordings have been used to study epilepsy and seizures.

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