Vagal Stimulation Can Increase Synchrony of Human Brain Activity
Abstract number :
1.125
Submission category :
Year :
2000
Submission ID :
2627
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/2/2000 12:00:00 AM
Published date :
Dec 1, 2000, 06:00 AM
Authors :
Guido Widman, Andreas Hufnagel, Klaus Lehnertz, Judith Scherrmann, Christian E Elger, Univ of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; Univ of Essen, Essen, Germany.
RATIONALE: It has been shown that vagus-nerve-stimulation (VNS) reduces seizure frequency in epilepsy patients, alters brain blood flow and memory-performance. No significant influence on the human EEG has been observed so far. METHODS, RESULTS: Up to now, three patients implanted with vagal nerve stimulators attended evaluation for epilepsy surgery. This allowed invasive recording of an artifact free subdural and intrahippocampal EEG. In all cases the total EEG-power increased during VNS whereas the EEG-complexity (a non linear dynamics derived measure) decreased. CONCLUSIONS: The hypothesis that acute VNS only resembles arousal phenomena can be rejected. The observed increase in synchrony of the EEG appears to include protective effects optionally preventing epileptic neurons from being recruited by epileptic processes.