Regensburg 2016 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 26: Symposium - Chimera States: Coherence-Incoherence Patterns in Complex Networks (SYCS)

BP 26.5: Hauptvortrag

Dienstag, 8. März 2016, 11:45–12:15, H1

Epileptic seizures: chimeras in brain dynamics — •Klaus Lehnertz — Universität Bonn

Epilepsy is a complex malfunction of the brain that affects approximately 50 million people worldwide. Epileptic seizures are the cardinal symptom of this multi-facetted disease and are usually characterized by an overly synchronized firing of neurons. Seizures can not be controlled by any available therapy in about 25% of individuals, and knowledge about mechanisms underlying generation, spread, and termination of the extreme event seizure in humans is still fragmentary.

There is now increasing evidence for the existence of large-scale epileptic networks in which all constituents can contribute to the generation, maintenance, spread, and termination of even focal seizures as well as to the many pathophysiologic phenomena seen during the seizure-free interval. Using concepts and analysis tools from nonlinear dynamics, statistical physics, synchronization and network theory, significant progress has been made over the last decade in characterizing the connection structure of large-scale epileptic networks and in understanding their long-term dynamics. Model simulations of complex oscillator networks with connection structures seen in human epilepsies indicate that seizure-like activities can be regarded as self-initiated and self-terminated chimera states. Altogether, findings open promising directions for the development of new therapeutic possibilities.