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NJIT Mathematical Biology Seminar

Tuesday, April 7, 2009, 4:00pm
Cullimore Hall 611
New Jersey Institute of Technology

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Topological Determinants of Epileptogenesis

Viji Santhakumar

Department of Neurology and Neurosciences, UMDNJ

In temporal lobe epilepsy, changes in synaptic and intrinsic properties occur on a background of altered network architecture resulting from cell loss and axonal sprouting. Although modeling studies using idealized networks indicated the general importance of network topology in epilepsy, it is not known whether structural changes that take place during epileptogenesis result in hyperexcitability. Using a data-driven structural model of the rat dentate gyrus and simulations of activity in a functional dentate network model we examine how the structural changes due to cell loss and sprouting that occur in epilepsy contribute to the disease process.