Drug-resistant focal epilepsy
Primary indication for invasive monitoring.
Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
Research82
Awareness45
Complexity85
Clinical weight75
Plasticity40
Live debate60
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Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology
Quick answers
What is intracranial EEG iEEG/ECoG?
Electrodes on or in the brain during clinical mapping — millimetre-scale timing that scalp EEG blurs. Teaching description of published methods.
When did Penfield-era cortical stimulation map speech?
Mid-20th-century Montreal work made awake mapping famous. Modern grids and stereo-EEG continue the classroom story without copying an OR checklist.
Is this a guide to implant surgery or dosing?
No. Educational methods atlas. Not a diagnosis, implant protocol, or medication dose.
What can iEEG resolve that scalp methods smear?
When and where populations engage during perception, speech, memory or movement — at scales scalp EEG averages away.
Research score 82 — a clinic ranking?
No. Editorial 0-100 in this methods field. Compare with EEG, fMRI and MEG neighbours.
Why do overview pages get clicks?
They name ECoG sites and cortical surface mapping early. Keep reading Overview, Anatomy, Function; do not self-schedule a procedure.
Clinical use centres on drug-resistant epilepsy evaluation, eloquent-cortex mapping and sometimes guiding neuromodulation — always in specialised programmes.
Educational neuroscience context only — not medical advice. Intracranial EEG is performed in specialised clinical settings for indicated patients.
Conditions
Suspected eloquent-area overlap
Need to map language/motor before resection.
MRI-negative epilepsy
SEEG can probe deep networks without large craniotomy.
Dual pathology / multifocal risk
Clarify which focus drives seizures.
Neuromodulation candidates
Inform DBS/RNS targeting discussions.
Research adjunct only
Cognitive tasks never justify electrodes alone.
Signs
Clinical need for invasive data
Noninvasive workup insufficient for surgical plan.
Focal semiology
Seizure behaviour suggesting localisable onset.
Discordant noninvasive tests
MRI, PET, scalp EEG disagree on focus.
Post-implant seizure capture
Enough events to map onset zones.
Stimulation-positive sites
Speech arrest or motor twitch during mapping.
Care themes
Specialised epilepsy centres
Multidisciplinary teams for implant and interpretation.
Informed consent & risk discussion
Bleeding, infection and deficit risks explained.
Tailored resection / ablation
Use maps to spare eloquent tissue when possible.
Post-explant rehab & follow-up
Monitor recovery and seizure outcomes.
Seek epilepsy specialists for personal surgical questions; this atlas is educational.
Sources & research
- Promises and limitations of human intracranial electroencephalographyPromises and limits of human iEEG.DOI
- High-frequency neural activity and human cognition: past, present and possible future of intracranial EEG researchHigh-frequency activity and cognition review.DOI
- High-frequency gamma oscillations and human brain mapping with electrocorticographyHigh-gamma mapping with ECoG.DOI
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