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Jun 1, 2000

Analysis of EEG Data from Weak-field Magnetic Stimulation of Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Patients

Jon Dobson, Timothy G. St. Pierre, Paola P. Schultheiss-Grassi, H. Gregor Wieser, and Niels Kuster, Brain Research, Volume 868, Issue 2, pp. 386–391, June 2000


Ten patients suffering from mesial temporal lobe epilepsy were exposed to weak, DC magnetic field stimulation following computer-controlled protocols established in previous studies. Poisson statistical analysis of the ten patients undergoing semi-invasive (foramen ovale) electrode monitoring reveals that for at least one experimental protocol, application of DC magnetic fields alters interictal epileptiform spike activity in five of ten patients. Similar results also have been observed in the analysis of both human and rat brains by employing weak, alternating magnetic field stimulation. Further study is necessary in order to optimize the magnetic field exposure protocol.