Modeling Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures with Coupled FitzHugh Oscillators
摘要
Epilepsy is the most frequent neurological disease in the world. More than 25% of the patients with this disease evolve to drug-resistant epilepsy, of which not all of them can be treated surgically. This is due to the location of the epileptic focus. For these patients, neurostimulation has emerged as a viable treatment accepted in some countries and is becoming more and more used. However, to this day, the clarity of the mechanisms by which brain stimulation attenuates seizures remains poorly understood. In this work, we propose a mathematical model based on coupled FitzHugh oscillators in which their transition from harmonic oscillations to a disordered oscillatory regime can be observed. This is compatible with generalized tonic-clonic seizures shown by EEG and the oscillator death, comparable to postictal generalized electroencephalographic suppression. This was achieved either by changing the system’s charging capacity or the initial conditions.