What Affects Success After Epilepsy Surgery
This study combined patient-level data from many published studies on epilepsy surgery.
Imaging & EEG
This hub covers epilepsy EEG and MRI: how EEGs and brain imaging help doctors understand seizure patterns and possible causes. Clear explanations of common findings and what research suggests.
What you’ll find in this topic:
- Plain-language summaries of new epilepsy studies
- What the research means for real life
- Practical questions to ask your neurologist
- Related topics you can explore next
Imaging & EEG: What Families Usually Want to Know
- What an EEG can (and can’t) tell you
- Why EEGs can be “normal” even when seizures are real
- When MRI/other imaging matters (and what doctors look for)
- What “spikes,” “slowing,” and “epileptiform activity” mean
Common EEG & Imaging Terms in Plain English
- EEG: Measures electrical activity from the scalp (not a brain “scan”)
- Epileptiform discharges: Patterns that suggest seizure risk
- Ictal: Refers to during a seizure
- Interictal: Refers to between seizures
- Focal vs. Generalized: Pertaining to one specific spot on or network on one side of the brain vs. both sides/networks
- MRI Lesion: A structural change that might be related (not always)
Imaging & EEG FAQ
Can you have epilepsy with a normal EEG?
Yes. EEGs are a snapshot. Some people need repeat EEGs, sleep-deprived EEGs, or long-term monitoring.
Does an abnormal EEG mean someone will definitely have seizures?
Not always. It raises suspicion and risk, but diagnosis still depends on the full story.
Why do doctors order an MRI?
To look for structural causes like scars, malformations, tumors, and stroke-related changes, which can guide treatment.
What is video EEG monitoring?
An inpatient or extended study that records EEG and video together to match symptoms to brain activity.
-
-
Dog Epilepsy May Offer Clues Beyond The Brain
This paper was a scoping review, which means the authors gathered and summarized earlier studies rather than testing a treatment themselves.
-
Global Guidance For Infant Spasms Still Varies
This study reviewed clinical guidelines for infantile epileptic spasms syndrome (IESS) from around the world.
-
Brain Balance May Shape Movement Recovery After Surgery
This study looked at whether brain activity patterns in the hemisphere not operated on were linked to motor recovery after hemispheric epilepsy surgery.
-
Rare Occipital Seizures Often Cause Complex Visual Symptoms
This was a systematic review of published reports about lateral occipital seizures, a rare type of focal seizure arising from the lateral occipital lobe, a brain region involved in vision.
-
Seizure Prevention After Child Head Injury Varies Widely
This study looked at current practices and knowledge gaps in how physicians in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in Mainland China use prophylactic anti-seizure medicines for pediatric post-traumatic epilepsy after traumatic brain injury.
-
Steroid Treatment Linked To Better EEG And Thinking
This study looked at children with developmental and/or epileptic encephalopathy with spike-wave activation in sleep (D/EE-SWAS), a rare paediatric epileptic encephalopathy in which epileptiform discharges become markedly activated during non-REM sleep and can be linked with seizures and neurocognitive regression.
-
Best EEG Analysis Methods For Seizure-Related Conditions
Researchers looked at how different ways of analyzing EEG “functional connectivity” perform in seizure-related conditions.
-
Heart Tumors Before Birth May Signal Tuberous Sclerosis
This study looked at 80 fetuses found before birth to have one or more cardiac rhabdomyomas, which are heart tumors often linked with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC).
