Traditional SEEG interpretation focuses heavily on where seizures appear to begin. Modern network analysis asks a broader question: how do multiple implanted brain regions interact before, during and between seizures, and can those connections improve surgical targeting?
Why the seizure-onset zone may not tell the whole story
Epilepsy increasingly is understood as a network disorder. A seizure may begin in one region but depend on a wider set of connected nodes for propagation and recurrence.
That means the first contact showing ictal activity may not always represent the entire tissue that needs to be treated.
Connectivity analysis
Researchers can calculate statistical relationships between signals recorded from different intracranial electrodes.
Methods include coherence, phase synchrony, directed connectivity, graph-theory measures and dynamical network analysis.
What recent evidence shows
A 2026 ILAE Epilepsy Surgery Networks Task Force systematic review and meta-analysis found intracranial EEG connectivity analysis promising for localising epileptogenic networks.
However, the added clinical value over standard expert presurgical evaluation remains uncertain and methods are not yet standardised.
Hubness and influential nodes
Some studies identify highly connected or influential network nodes whose removal may correlate with better seizure outcome.
These measures are research tools rather than established stand-alone surgical criteria.
Machine learning enters the field
Recent work uses network features and machine learning to automate seizure-onset localisation and predict postsurgical outcome.
These models require external validation before routine clinical use.
SEEG remains hypothesis-driven
Network analysis cannot rescue a poor implantation strategy because SEEG only samples the regions where electrodes were placed.
Clinical semiology, MRI, scalp EEG and other non-invasive data remain essential for deciding where to implant.
The future is integration, not replacement
The likely role of network methods is to add quantitative information to expert interpretation rather than replace it.
Standardisation, reproducibility and evidence of improved patient outcomes remain key research priorities.
Related reading
Sources and further reading
- ILAE Task Force systematic review/meta-analysis of intracranial EEG connectivity — 2026
- Can brain network analyses guide epilepsy surgery? — 2025 review
- Recent developments in SEEG monitoring
Evidence checked: September 2026.