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The term ‘seizure’ emphasizes the abrupt and unpredictable nature of the onset of epochs of pathological neuronal synchrony that define the disorder of epilepsy. Mechanisms of epilepsy should account for seizure transitions with these unique temporal properties. In this review, Kevin Staley discusses how combining insights from new genetic etiologies with seizure timing may begin to outline the mechanisms by which the brain becomes predisposed to seizures.
Harris and Shepherd review our knowledge of input and output patterns for different classes of cortical cells. They propose that cortex, like other parts of the body, has a serially homologous organization, featuring area- and species-specific variations on a basic theme, that allows different types of function to emerge.
