Objective EEG Bed Side Assessment of Impaired Conscious Awareness in Epilepsy

This projects goal is to derive an EEG-based measure of conscious awareness to be applied in the care for epilepsy patients. The established terminology of "ictal" versus "interictal" is deceptive because it suggests that during the "interictal" phase epileptic activity is absent and detrimental mechanisms of the disease are only active during seizures. But evidence exists that cognitive impairment extends to states traditionally considered interictal. The development of an objective, ideally ambulatory test assessing cognitive impairment would not only provide a deeper understanding of the pathology but induce a change in clinical practice: if cognitive impairment could be demonstrated "interictally", this fact would help to weigh treatment effects against potential side-effects.

In this project the investigators will set out to

• identify EEG markers in healthy volunteers, which reflect the changes in spatial and temporal dynamics of neuronal activity during states of reduced conscious awareness using sleep as an example of a state of reduced conscious awareness;
• assess with neuropsychological testing reductions in interictal conscious awareness in patients with epilepsy;
• test, whether markers established under (1) are valid in individuals with epilepsy and interictally reduced conscious awareness (see (2)).

Inclusion criteria

• age minimum 18 years
• diagnosis of (absence) epilepsy // healthy age-matched controls
• being of good health (besides epilepsy in the case group)

Exclusion criteria

• central nervous system disorders (besides epilepsy in the case group)
• substance abuse
• pregnancy