Stimulating the brain to treat epilepsy

Epilepsy is a serious neurological condition which is characterised by spontaneous seizures, or 'fits'. Current medications are effective in about 70% of patients, but can have important side effects. New therapies are desperately needed to address this treatment gap. Here we will use animal models to test a new therapy for epilepsy involving a novel type of brain stimulation. This is a non-invasive, simple, and readily translatable technique which involves stimulating the brain using flashing lights and sounds at a frequency of 40Hz. Stimulating the brain at this specific frequency increases brain rhythms, which in turn can affect brain neurochemistry and neuroinflammation. These attributes may well be able to influence seizure susceptibility - indeed our current studies in the lab suggest powerful effects at suppressing epilepsy development in rodents. In this project, we will assess whether stimulating the brain at 40Hz using these sensory triggers can reduce the frequency of seizures occurring in animals with epilepsy. We are also conducting safety studies in human patients with epilepsy, with a goal to introduce this as a new therapy. Techniques which will be learnt include animal modelling of epilepsy, surgery, in vivo electrophysiology, epilepsy monitoring, development refinement of the stimulation paradigm, post-mortem measures of neuroinflammation, molecular biology.