Professor John Jefferys - Neuroscience Unit

Epilepsy Research

Introduction

Epilepsy is a disorder that affects several percent of the population at some stage of their lives. Normal brain function is interupted by (usually) intermittent and sudden periods of excessively synchronous neuronal discharge, either full clinical seizures, or brief interictal spikes. Epilepsies come in many forms and have many causes. In this lab we are especially concerned with focal epilesies, that is epilepsies with an identifiable site of origin or "focus".

Many experimental models help us understand epileptic discharges. Perhaps the most productive experiments in terms of cellular mechanisms come from tissue slices maintained in vitro. Coupled with the computer simulations by our colleague, Roger Traub, they have led to the following overview on the initiation of epileptic discharges in the hippocampus.

We are now developing a clearer understanding of how discharges are initiated, synchronized and terminated.

Group members and their research

Simon Gladwell

Caroline Anderson

Heidi Statton