Mathematical Insights into Epilepsy: Theory to Treatment!

Mathematical model developed by scientists at Immanuel Kant BFU captures the dynamics of the human brain during epilepsy, offering insights into seizure evolution and facilitating more effective epilepsy treatments ().

The model faithfully mimics seizure-associated brain activity and incorporates diverse neuron and cell interactions as published in Physical Review magazine.

Epilepsy
Fits or convulsions or Epilepsy is characterized by recurrent, involuntary seizures and is described as a chronic neurological disorder

‘Did You Know? Epilepsy mortality rates are two to three times higher than the general population, with sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) being a significant concern. #epilepsy #seizuremodel, #brainactivity ’

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During ordinary brain function, excitatory and inhibitory inputs that are transmitted between neurons counterbalance each other. However, in disorders such as epilepsy strong excitatory impulses are formed in certain parts of the brain.

As a consequence, an entire region of the brain is being seized by excessive stimulation, and the person has convulsions.

Due to the fact that a large number of brain cells are involved during an epileptic seizure, scientists have failed to fully describe the development of the state. As a result, the development of an effective treatment is falling back.

Epilepsy In Children / Seizures In Children
Epilepsy or seizures are caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain and seen fairly commonly in children. Symptoms can be highly variable and parents should seek prompt medical advice to treat the condition

Immanuel Kant BFU’s Brain Model

Scientists at Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (Kaliningrad), the Indian Statistical Institute (Kolkata, India), and the Catholic University of Leuven (Leuven, Belgium) have developed a model that replicates brain activity during an epileptic seizure.

Its feature is that compared to other programs that describe the process of transmission of nerve impulses in the human brain and take only individual pairwise interactions between cells into account, it describes multiple connections, including interactions between neurons and supporting brain cells — glial cells.

Epilepsy During Pregnancy
Seizures or epilepsy during pregnancy can be fatal for both the mother and child and needs urgent medical intervention. The reasons are often unknown.

It is crucial to take them into account because the disruption of neuron-glial interaction is considered a key contributor to the development of epilepsy.

As a result, the researchers have obtained a model whose components form a net resembling a human brain’s neural and glial cell network.

Sleep Disorders Associated with Epilepsy
Epilepsy and sleep disorders have a profound effect on each other. Epileptic seizures can disturb sleep; sleep disorders like sleep apnea, RLS can aggravate seizures.

With that, the scientists have set up connections between elements so that the signals would spread spontaneously and in sync.

Such a model of behavior reflected hypersynchronous activity during an epileptic seizure and is very similar to processes that occur during an epileptic attack.

“Later on, we are planning to enhance our model by considering a more realistic approach to modeling brain nerve cells. We are also interested in the issue of considering the most accurate interactions between different brain cells for the best understanding of processes in an epileptic brain. It is likely that our model may be interesting for testing the effects of different anti-epileptic drugs on our brain”, — says Alexander Khramov, Doctor of Physics and Mathematics, chief scientific officer of The Baltic Centre for neurotechnologies and Artificial Intelligence at BFU named after Immanuel Kant.

Reference:

International League Against Epilepsy - (https://www.epilepsydiagnosis.org/)

Source-Newswise