Correlation of invasive EEG and scalp EEG

Ever since the implementation of invasive EEG recordings in the clinical setting, it has been perceived that a considerable proportion of epileptic discharges present at a cortical level are missed by routine scalp EEG recordings. Several in vitro, in vivo, and simulation studies have been performed in the past decades aiming to clarify the interrelations of cortical sources with their scalp and invasive EEG correlates. The amplitude ratio of cortical potentials to their scalp EEG correlates, the extent of the cortical area involved in the discharge, as well as the localization of the cortical source and its geometry have been each independently linked to the recording of the cortical discharge with scalp electrodes. The need to elucidate these interrelations has been particularly imperative in the field of epilepsy surgery with its rapidly growing EEG-based localization technologies. Simultaneous multiscale EEG recordings with scalp, subdural and/or depth electrodes, applied in presurgical epilepsy workup, offer an excellent opportunity to shed some light to this fundamental issue. Whereas past studies have considered predominantly neocortical sources in the context of temporal lobe epilepsy, current investigations have included deep sources, as in mesial temporal epilepsy, as well as extratemporal sources. Novel computational tools may serve to provide surrogates for the shortcomings of EEG recording methodology and facilitate further developments in modern electrophysiology.