Assessing Seizure Susceptibility using Psychophysical Tests
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessing seizure susceptibility using psychophysical tests
IRAS ID
226913
Contact name
Roger Whittaker
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 2 months, 1 days
Research summary
Is it possible to assess what risk someone has of suffering an epileptic seizure?
Recent work suggests that certain classes of nerve cells (interneurons) are particularly important in protecting us against epileptic seizures. Consequently, problems with these interneurons may cause epilepsy. Intriguingly, these same interneurons also perform other roles in the brain. The implication is that, in addition to causing epilepsy, damage to these cells may affect other brain functions, such as sensory processing, and be responsible for mood disturbances such as anxiety and depression. If so, then one may be able to monitor a person’s seizure risk using simple tests of sensory perception known as psychophysical tests, or through self-assessment of mood.We want to examine this relationship between psychophysics performance, mood and seizure risk directly. Our hope is that ultimately, we may tailor medication to individual patients, guided by assessment of their mood and sensory pathways. For instance, we might recognize increasing seizure risk even before they develop epilepsy, and start a person on a low dose of an antiepileptic medication to delay or even prevent that first seizure. Once seizures start, they tend to worsen the underlying condition and thereby accelerate the pathological process: by preventing this first seizure, we may stabilize the condition.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/NE/0093
Date of REC Opinion
7 Jun 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion