Application of the Directed Transfer Function Method to the Study of the Propagation of Epilepsy Neural Information

Abstract

A study of the propagation of electroencephalogram (EEG) activity before seizure by means of the Directed Transfer Function (DTF) is presented. The DTF method is a multi-channel parametric method of analysis based on an autoregressive model, and is capable of supplying such information as the direction, spectra and dynamics of the propagation of EEG signals. This method is typically utilized to determine patterns of neural information flow. In this paper, the DTF method is applied to detect the propagation of EEG signals, and the work is focused on aiding the clinical diagnose for the foci and the propagation pathway of the epilepsy neural information. The work has been efficiently utilized to diagnose complex partial seizures originating from temporal and frontal lobe structures in 10 patients, based on the intracranial recordings. It is concluded that the source of the seizure onset, as well as the neural circuitry, can be found so that the propagation of the epileptic information from the foci to the entire brain can be determined. It is tested that the DTF method may be effective and practical in the clinical diagnose.