Bidirectional links between epilepsy and sleep have been known for thousands of years. Despite nearly a century of research using EEG investigations, the relationships are still not well understood.

Dr. Laurent Sheybani interviewed Dr. Birgit Frauscher, an epileptologist and sleep specialist at the Montreal Neurological Institute. They discussed what is known about sleep patterns, how sleep may influence epileptic activity and vice versa, and how sleep research may lead to more effective epilepsy treatments.

Studies mentioned in the interview include:
Interictal Hippocampal Spiking Influences the Occurrence of Hippocampal Sleep Spindles (Frauscher et al., 2015, Sleep)

Focal epilepsy disrupts spindle structure and function (Schiller et al., 2022, Nature Scientific Reports)

Origin and significance of the cyclic alternating pattern: Review article (Terzano & Parrino, 2000, Sleep Medicine Reviews)

SleepSEEG: automatic sleep scoring using intracranial EEG recordings only (von Ellenrieder et al., 2022, J. Neural Eng.)

Recurrent Hippocampo-neocortical sleep-state divergence in humans (Guthrie et al., 2022, PNAS)

Scalp spindles are associated with widespread intracranial activity with unexpectedly low synchrony (Frauscher et al., 2015, Neuroimage)

Sharp Waves episodes are meant for informational purposes only, and not as clinical or medical advice.

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