Synaptic plasticity in neuronal network models can explain patterns of bursting activity seen in temporal lobe epileptic seizures

High-resolution time-frequency analyses of ictal EEG allow for identification and characterization of ictal patterns. These patterns reflect alterations in the brain network synchrony. It is not clear why seizures undergo these dynamical changes and what mechanisms contribute to or cause these changes. In this work we use neural modeling studies to address these issues. We investigate the role of synaptic plasticity and nonsynaptic neuronal plasticity (firing frequency adaptation) in regulating pattern of neuronal network synchrony. We show that nonsynaptic neuronal plasticity (i.e. calcium dependent afterhyperpolarization in neurons) can regulate the frequency of the dominant rhythm in EEG while synaptic potentiation may be responsible for irregular bursting prior to seizure termination.