Metabolic and Respiratory Control of Absence Epilepsy

Absence epilepsy is a pediatric seizure disorder characterized by brief, stereotyped electrographic patterns that often rapidly spread across the brain. Decades of work demonstrate that absence seizures arise from paroxysmal activity within neural networks connecting the thalamus and cortex. How these seizures spontaneously occur remains unknown. Herein, I provide evidence to advance the argument that absence seizures are not simply random events, but are, in fact, events that emerge following disruptions in metabolism and respiration.