Nonlinear EEG analysis in epilepsy: from basic research to clinical applications

Nonlinear time series analyses of EEG recordings from epilepsy patients provide new insight into the spatio-temporal dynamics of the epileptogenic process. This overview presents a number of applications indicating that nonlinear EEG analysis allows to improve the diagnostics of the dynamical disease epilepsy as well as the understanding of basic mechanisms. Particularly, the definition and detection of a specific state predictive of an impending seizure offers a basis for the development of new therapy concepts for seizure prevention.