THE FUNCTIONAL STATE OF CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES IN RELATION TO THE LATERALIZATION OF AN EPILEPTIC FOCUS AND THE SEVERITY OF AN EPILEPTIC PROCESS

The authors studied the steady-state and dynamic manifestations of the functional state of the brain, the characteristic features of its topography and changes in the propagation of epileptic activity in patients with epilepsy in its progression, estimated interhemispheric asymmetric parameters in the primary and secondary generalization of epileptic activity in patients with left and right hemispheric foci, and found correlations of the parameters of organization of bioelectrical processes reflecting the functional state of the brain with the specific features of the cognitive and emotional personality sphere in different patient groups as compared to healthy individuals. One hundred and ten epileptic patients with varying epileptic focus lateralization and 20 healthy individuals were examined; the role of the spatial synchronicity of the cortical biopotentials reflecting the enhanced functional activity of cortical regions in the left hemisphere, which allows it to be regarded as leading in the genesis of generalized seizures in right-handed people. As the epileptic process progressed the level of cognitive functions significantly decreased, this decreasing level being higher in the patients with a left hemispheric focus than in those with a right hemispheric one. The determination of the severity of cognitive disorders makes it possible to predict the degree of impaired adaptation and to follow up changes in antiepileptic treatment.

electroencephalography, spatial synchronicity of cortical biopotentials, functional asymmetry of bioelectrical activity, cognitive functions, emotional personality features