The electrocorticographic (ECoG) signal is the electric potential recorded above the cortical surface and reflects the combined activity of large populations of neurons. As ECoG recordings are closer to the neuronal sources than the EEG recordings and further away than LFP recordings, approximations used when modeling LFPs and EEG signals can not a priori be used to model ECoG signals. Here, we give a brief overview of the challenges involved when modeling the ECoG signal and give an overview of previous modeling studies.

Candidate models for how neurons or networks operate must be validated against experimental data. For this, it is necessary to have a good model for the measurement itself. For example, to compare model predictions from cortical networks with electrical signals recorded by electrodes placed on the cortical surface or the head scalp, the so-called volume conductor theory is required to make a proper quantitative link between the network activity and the measured signals. Here we describe the physics and modelling of electric, magnetic and other measurements of brain activity. The physical principles behind electric and magnetic stimulation of brain tissue are the same as those covering electric and magnetic measurements, and are also outlined.

The insula was described more than two centuries ago, in 1809, by the anatomist Johann Christian Reil. However, the functional anatomy of the insular cortex and the importance of the insula in psychiatric and neurologic pathological conditions remained obscure for a long period after the initial description of Reil. The location and the complex functional organization of the insula explain, for instance, the difficulty researchers and clinicians had in defining its contribution in temporal lobe epilepsy. This introductory chapter reviews the important steps that led to a better understanding of the role of the insula in human focal epilepsy.

This chapter, reviews the basics for children undergoing epilepsy surgery. The authors discuss the incidence and types of seizures as well as various modalities for seizure suppression (e.g. ketogenic diet, vagal nerve stimulation). The chapter presents the surgical approaches to epilepsy surgery,MRI mapping followed by laser ablation and electrocorticography with mapping followed by surgical excision. The anesthetic implications related to these complex patients are presented.