Computational modelling of the long-term effects of brain stimulation on the local and global structural connectivity of epileptic patients

Abstract

In patients with drug resistant focal epilepsy, targeted weak stimulation of the affected brain regions has been proposed as an alternative to surgery. However, the effectiveness of stimulation as a treatment presents great variation from patient to patient. In this study, brain activity is simulated for a period of one day using a network of Wilson-Cowan oscillators coupled according to diffusion imaging based structural connectivity. We use this computational model to examine the potential long-term effects of stimulation on brain connectivity. Our findings indicate that the overall simulated effect of stimulation is heavily dependent on the excitability of the stimulated regions. Additionally, stimulation seems to lead to long-term effects in the connectivity of secondary (non-stimulated) regions in epileptic patients. These effects are correlated with a worse surgery outcome in some patients, which suggests that long-term simulations could be used as a tool to determine suitability for surgery/stimulation.