Didactics

Boot Camp 

Incoming Epilepsy fellows will attend Boot Camp with several high yield epilepsy and neurophysiology lectures given over the first few days of the fellowship. A listing of the Boot camp lectures are as follows: 

  • Neonatal and premature EEG, maturation
  • Pediatric EEG, maturation, normal variants
  • EEG interictal epileptiform discharges and epileptic seizure patters
  • EEG non-epileptiform features (focal, diffuse)
  • EEG instrumentation - electrodes, amplifiers, analog and digital recording, filters and display
  • EEG artifacts
  • EEG in early severe neonatal and infantile epileptic encephalopathy
  • EEG and encephalopathy, coma and death, including periodic patterns
  • Ictal-interictal continuum
  • Classification of seizures and epilepsies using latest ILAE and ICD-10 terminology
  • Neonatal/infantile epilepsy syndromes
  • Childhood epilepsy syndromes
  • Epilepsy syndromes in adolescence and adulthood
  • Status epilepticus management

Lectures 

Fellows have weekly lectures covering various clinical neurophysiology and epilepsy topics. A lecture breakdown is shown below 


Neurophysiology

  • Neurophysiology - potential - resting, action, conduction. Generator anatomy and Mechanisms
  • EEG basic physiology, volume conduction, polarity and localization, near field and far field potentials
  • Neurophysiology - Synaptic transmission in CNS and PNS
  • Adult EEG, normal variants
  • EEG and drug effects, anesthesia effects, EEG during carotid endarterectomy
  • EEG technique, electrical safety
  • Quantitative EEG
  • Signal averaging methodology
  • Primer to intracranial EEG
  • Intraoperative monitoring - epilepsy surgery techniques of ECoG, awake craniotomy, cortical mapping

Clinical Epilepsy  
  • Basic science of epilepsy
  • Seizure semiology
  • Reflex epilepsies and provoked seizures
  • Epilepsy and pregnancy
  • Antiseizure medications emphasizing the newest medications
  • Nonepileptic events/seizure mimickers
  • Surgical management of epilepsy
  • Neuropsychology assessment in epilepsy
  • Epilepsy surgery zones
  • MEG
  • Wide-Band EEG
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
  • MRI imaging in epilepsy
  • Nuclear medicine studies in epilepsy
  • RNS and DBS
  • VNS
  • Ketogenic diet
  • Epidemiology of genetic epilepsies and epilepsy genetics research - outcomes and clinical relevance (familial studies, trio analyses, GWAS)
  • Focal genetic epilepsies
  • Metabolic genetic epilepsies
  • Precision therapy in epilepsy
  • Pharmacogenetics
  • SUDEP genetics
  • Genetic counseling

Didactics/ Curricular Activities: 

  • Weekly epilepsy didactics, 

  • Weekly EEG review and teaching with EEG/EMU technologists, 

  • Weekly Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery case conference, 

  • Bi-weekly Epilepsy Surgery Confs (Adult side), 

  • Monthly Neurogenetics rounds (every 3rd week)  

  • Weekly Child Neurology Case Conf/JC/M&M (Tuesday: 12-1pm) 

  • Pediatric EEG (Dr. Karia, every 4th) (Tues: 12-1),  

  • Journal Club/M&M Conf. (every 4th) (Wed: 12-1), 

  • Weekly Neuroradiology Conf (Wednesday: 8-9 am),  

  • Weekly Neuroscience Grand Rounds (Thursday: 8-9 am), 

  • Adult Neurology Lectures, Fellow can attend epilepsy related lectures (Fridays: 1:15-3:15pm), 

  • Fellow will be given the opportunity to attend one national congress; AES, ACNS meeting.