The role of clinical neurophysiology in the management of epilepsy

Clinical neurophysiologic studies have an important role in the diagnosis a nd management of the patient with epilepsy. Epilepsy is a clinical diagnosi s and the EEG is an important adjunct used to differentiate epileptic seizu res from nonepileptic events, refine the diagnosis of epilepsy into specifi c seizure types and epileptic syndromes, and provide a measure of brain fun ction. The value of the EEG is highly dependent on the clinical context in which it is being applied. In some epilepsies the interictal EEG may he dia gnostic whereas in others an ictal recording may be necessary to obtain a s pecific diagnosis. Both the interictal and ictal EEG characteristics vary w ith specific seizure types and epilepsies and are described in detail in th is review. The usefulness of the EEG in the management of epilepsy and in a iding in the decision to discontinue antiepileptic therapy is also discusse d.