Eloquent and epileptogenic brain: advantages of navigated brain stimulation in focal neocortical epilepsy?

Quality of presurgical evaluation in focal extratemporal epilepsy surgery is highly dependent on precise structural and functional identification of the epileptic focus. Navigated brain stimulation (NBS), which combines the spatial information of MRI and the functional possibilities of cortical stimulation, might improve reliability and cost-effectiveness by complementing existing preoperative procedures. In this study we suggest that NBS can identify and locate eloquent and epileptogenic areas of the brain. In the rare case of an 8-year-old boy with intractable focal epilepsy, accompanied by somatosensory auras…