NIRS-measured oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin changes associated with EEG spike-and-wave discharges in a genetic model of absence epilepsy: the GAERS.

Purpose: Absence epilepsy may be severe and is frequently accompanied by cognitive delay, yet its metabolic/hemodynamic aspects have not been established. The Genetic Absence Epilepsy Rats from Strasbourg (GAERS) are an isomorphic, predictive, and homologous model of human absence epilepsy. We studied hemodynamic changes related to generalized spike-and-wave discharges (GSWDs) in GAERS by using a technique with high temporal resolution: near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).