Absence epilepsy is marked by sudden lapses in consciousness accompanied by spike-wave discharges (SWDs), yet the neural mechanisms underlying impaired sensorimotor processing in these episodes remain unresolved. Prior work has shown that normal-appearing signals can persist in primary sensory cortical areas during seizures, suggesting that impaired behavioral responsiveness may arise from...
Patients with focal temporal lobe seizures often experience loss of consciousness associated with cortical slow waves, like those in deep sleep. Previous work in rat models suggests that decreased subcortical arousal causes depressed cortical function during focal seizures. However, these studies were performed under light anesthesia, making it impossible to correlate conscious behavior with...