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Journal of Clinical EEG & Neuroscience, January, 2010Abstract of presentation at the 6th Annual Joint Meeting of the EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ECNS) and the International Society for NeuroImaging in Psychiatry (ISNIP), in Atlanta, Georgia, September 9-13, 2009.Abstract continued from Vol. 40, No. 4, October 2009 issue of Clinical EEG and Neuroscience.PosterThe Possible Role of GABAergic Interneurons in EEG Phase Relationships: an Exploratory Case Study of Dravet’s SyndromeTuttle DM, Psychological Sciences Institute, John’s Creek, Georgia, USA Dravet’s Syndrome or Severe Myoclonic Epilepsy of Infancy (SMEI) is a form of intractable epilepsy developing during the first year of life and thereafter. Psychomotor delay and a variety of cognitive impairments typically occur. Dravet ‘s Syndrome is linked to a mutation of the SCN1A gene. This mutation leads to an alteration of Nav1.1 channels, which is known to impair GABAergic inhibitory interneurons and is linked to seizure activity in Dravet’s Syndrome. An 11-year-old subject with Dravet’s Syndrome who also presented with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) symptoms was examined. EEG data was collected on a Cadwell EASY-II system using the linked ear referenced 10-20 system montage. EEG phase z-score analyses using NeuroguideTM was used to assess deviations from normal neural functioning. Abnormal characteristics of phase shift and phase lock were clearly evidenced. In conclusion, Deviant EEG phase relationships have been proposed as a descriptor of disconnectivity in ASD and now for Dravet’s Syndrome. This may account for the similarity of Dravet’s behavior to ASD. Further research on the direct manipulation of the phase relationships by methods of neural stimulation and/or psychopharmcological influence may not only prove the proposed model but yield a successful clinical protocol to treat Dravet’s symptoms.
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