Seizure prediction using scalp electroencephalogram

Using a measure of nonlinear dynamical changes we term marginal predictability, we report evidence of robust changes in this parameter on scalp EEG in a cohort of patients with medically refractory mesiobasal temporal lobe epilepsy (MBTLE). In the baseline (interictal) state there are distinct differences in this nonlinear measure between epileptic and neurologically normal subjects. At baseline, in patients with MBTLE there are differences in these measures between electrodes adjacent to the ictal onset zone and more remotely placed electrodes. The character of these differences evolves over a period of approximately 30 min before a seizure. We discuss and integrate our findings with two emerging concepts in epileptology, first, the concept of a preictal or transition phase rather than an abrupt movement from interictal to ictal activity, and second, the notion of an epileptic neural network with changes in areas of brain remote from what has traditionally been considered the ictal onset zone influencing "ictogenesis." (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.