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Epileptic Disorders

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The Bancaud and Talairach view on the epileptogenic zone: a working hypothesis Volume 8, supplement 2, Supplement 2, September 2006

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Authors
Neurology Department, University Hospital, Grenoble, France, Neurosurgery Department, Sainte Anne Hospital, Paris, France, Epilepsy Surgery Center C. Munari, Niguarda Hospital, Milano, Italy, Epilepsy Unit, Neurological Hospital P. Wertheimer, Lyon, France, CTRS-IDEE, Hospices Civils de Lyon, France

The definition of the epileptogenic zone, as proposed by Talairach and Bancaud, is an ictal electro-clinical definition based on the results of stereotactic intracerebral EEG (SEEG) recordings. It takes into account not only the anatomical location of the “site of the beginning and of the primary organization” of the epileptic discharge, but also how this discharge gives rise to the accompanying clinical symptoms. This definition is different from the North American view since, for the french authors, the epileptogenic zone is not synonymous with what can be called the “what-to-remove area”. In fact, it is above all a conceptual definition which emphazises the importance of studying the spatio-temporal dynamics of seizure discharges, and not only their starting point.