Research perspectives in cortical dysplasia and associated epilepsies

Our understanding of cortical alterations and related epilepsies has grown enormously in the last decade thanks to the explosion of basic information from laboratory neuroscience combined with advances in diagnostic tools, th erapeutic approaches and surgical techniques. In the present paper, we brie fly review the most important advances in these fields from the point of vi ew of the clinician concerned with cortical malformation-related epilepsies . We propose that a highly effective way forward, expected not only to wide n knowledge of the basic mechanisms of seizure generation, but also to impr oved the management of patients, would be to promote interdisciplinary rese arch programmes on resected human cortex that involve neurosurgeons, neurol ogists and laboratory neuroscientists.