Depth electrode investigations in patients with bitemporal epileptiform abnormalities.

Fifty-seven patients showing bitemporal independent epileptiform abnormalities on extracranial electroencephalograms (EEGs) in whom the epileptogenic zone could not be localized or lateralized by extracranial EEG and other noninvasive tests were investigated with stereotactic depth electrode recordings. In a majority of 44 patients (77%), seizures originated exclusively or with a strong predominance in one temporal lobe only. Of the remaining 13 patients (23%), 8 had seizures originating independently in either temporal lobe without significant lateralized predominance, and 5 had multiple seizure patterns, which were often diffuse. The patterns of seizure onset as recorded by depth electrodes tended to vary even in the same patient. Electrical stimulation studies and the determination of afterdischarge thresholds were of limited utility for lateralization of seizure onset.