Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41697160›Full record

ArticleEpilepsia2026

Rhythms in longitudinal thalamic recordings are linked to seizure risk.

Xinbing Zhang, Zachary T Sanger, Thomas Lisko, Steffen Ventz, Robert A McGovern, Theoden I Netoff

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Epilepsia, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Xinbing ZhangDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8494-7180
Zachary T SangerDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2144-1895
Thomas LiskoDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0326-9101
Steffen VentzDivision of Biostatistics and Health Data Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Robert A McGovernDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Theoden I NetoffDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0115-1930

Funding

Patient Specific Parameter Optimization of Thalamic Stimulation for Treatment of EpilepsyU01NS124616 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · PI Robert A McGovern, THEODEN I NETOFF · 2022 to 2026
$2.6M
NINDS NIH HHS U01 NS124616NINDS NIH HHS U01NS124616
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveSeizure unpredictability remains a major clinical challenge for people with epilepsy. Previous works have shown that seizure risk is associated with circadian and multi-day cycles in both brain and physiological signals. However, it remains unclear whether neural activity from deep brain structures such as the anterior nucleus of the thalamus (ANT), the only U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved deep-brain stimulation (DBS) target for treating medication-resistant epilepsy, exhibits similar cyclic modulation related to seizures. This study aimed to assess whether long-term local field potential (LFP) recordings from the ANT exhibit circadian and multi-day cycles that are associated with seizures that could be used to support seizure forecasting in a retrospective approach.

methodsSeven participants implanted with the Medtronic Percept PC system for ANT-DBS underwent continuous at-home LFP recording of theta/alpha (4-12 Hz) and self-reported seizure logs. Wavelet and Hilbert transforms were used to identify rhythmic cycles in LFPs. Circular statistics quantified seizure phase-locking to LFP cycles and patterns estimated from seizure diaries. Gaussian process regression (GPR) models were trained using the instantaneous phase and amplitude of these cycles to forecast short-term seizure risk.

resultsA total of 7.37 years of at-home LFP recordings were analyzed. All seven participants exhibited circadian and/or multi-day cycles in their ANT LFPs, with seizures significantly phase-locked to some of these cycles. Incorporating the instantaneous cycle amplitude improved seizure forecasting performance across all participants. Moreover, a substantial, although non-significant, positive correlation between circadian cycle power and seizure frequency was found in most participants, suggesting an elevated seizure risk when circadian cycles are stronger. SIGNIFICANCE: This study demonstrates that long-term LFP recordings from the ANT reflect rhythmic brain activity linked to seizure risk, and that cycle amplitude provides complementary information about seizure risk than the phase alone.

Indexed as

Anterior Thalamic NucleiCircadian RhythmDrug Resistant EpilepsySeizuresThalamusAdultDeep Brain StimulationFemaleHumansLocal Field Potential MeasurementLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesTheta Rhythmanterior nucleus of thalamuscycles in epilepsydeep brain stimulationseizure forecastingthalamic recording

Identifiers

PMID41697160
PMCPMC13179669

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.