The Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, directed by Orrin Devinsky, M.D., offers multidisciplinary evaluation, medical treatment and surgical intervention for epilepsies by a team of epileptologists, neuropsychologists, neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, and other specially trained support personnel. The major goal of the Center is to provide comprehensive care to people with epilepsy. Routine and advanced diagnostic studies, 10 clinical pharmacologic trials, and a variety of therapeutic interventions are carried out to better understand the disorder and improve treatment.

Dr. Devinsky and his co-investigators are presently conducting studies of several investigational antiepileptic medications such as topiramate, tiagabine, lamotrigine, vigabatrin, oxcarbazepine, and remacemide, as well as vagal nerve stimulator implantation. The Comprehensive Epilepsy Center offers 16 inpatient video-EEG-monitored beds in a specialized Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. Each bed has the capacity for 64 channels of EEG data with on-line computer analysis for 24-hour seizure and spike detection.

Preoperative neuropsychological assessment, invasive monitoring including depth and subdural electrode studies, intraoperative electrocorticography and functional localization of language, motor and sensory areas permits precise surgical approaches to remove epileptic tissue while sparing necessary brain areas.