Magnetoencephalography in extratemporal epilepsy

Epilepsy surgery candidates with extratemporal foci represent a particular diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, because of anatomic and functional fe atures of the pertaining areas. In the last decade, novel developments in t he field of electrophysiological techniques have offered new approaches to detailed localization of specific epileptic discharges as well as eloquent regions. Magnetoencephalography, in combination with neuroimaging data and simultaneously recorded EEG, yields promising results to clarify centers of epileptic activity and their relationship to structural abnormalites and f unctionally significant areas. Examples are given to illustrate the range o f applications of this method as a contribution to routine presurgical eval uation.