Epilepsy and EEG
Welcome to the Yale Division of Epilepsy and EEG. The Comprehensive Epilepsy Center provides promising options for many adult and pediatric patients with epilepsy. Internationally known for clinical excellence and innovative research, this program was one of the nation's first and has evolved into one of the most active and advanced in the world.
Yale is internationally recognized as a leader in treatment for medically intractable and new onset epilepsy. This multidisciplinary program includes epileptologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, neuroradiologists, neuropathologists, and psychiatrists. Nurses, technicians, technical staff, and administrative staff complete the team. Outpatient facilities include an adult epilepsy monitoring unit, pediatric epilepsy monitoring unit, and a technologically advanced operating suite.
The program provides educational opportunities and training for physicians, students, patients and their families. Referring physicians can send patients for consultations, specific procedures or clinical trials, and comprehensive evaluations.
Faculty
Lawrence Hirsch, MD
Division Chief
Professor of Neurology
Chief, Division of Epilepsy and EEG
Co-Director, Yale Comprehensive Epilepsy Center
Co-Director, Critical Care EEG Monitoring Program
Christopher Benjamin, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Hal Blumenfeld, MD, PhD
Mark Loughridge and Michele Williams Professor of Neurology and Professor of Neuroscience and of Neurosurgery
Director, Yale Clinical Neuroscience Imaging Center (CNIC)
Richard Bronen, MD
Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging
Section Chief, Neuroradiology
Director for Faculty Affairs
Paul Desan, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Director, Psychiatric Consultation Service
Director, Yale Psychosomatic Medicine Fellowship
Jason Gerrard, MD, PhD, FAANS
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and of Neuroscience
Chief, Functional Neurosurgery
Chief, Trauma Neurosurgery, YNHH
Richard Mattson, MD
Professor Emeritus of Neurology
Adjunct Professor of Nursing, Yale Nursing School
Adithya Sivaraju, MD, MHA
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Department of Neurology
Comprehensive Epilepsy Center
Dennis Spencer, MD
Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery
Chief, Epilepsy Surgery
Director, Epilepsy Fellowship
Director, Pituitary Surgery
Clinical Staff
Clinical Research Staff
Administrative Staff
About Us
The Yale Comprehensive Epilepsy Center provides promising options for many adult and pediatric patients. Internationally known for clinical excellence and innovative research, this program was one of the nation's first and has evolved into one of the most active and advanced in the world.
Yale is internationally recognized as a leader in treatment for medically intractable and new onset epilepsy. This multidisciplinary program includes adult and pediatric epileptologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, neuroradiologists, neuroradiology and neuropathology within outpatient facilities that includes an eight bed adult epilepsy monitoring unit, two bed pediatric epilepsy monitoring unit, and a technologically advanced operating suite.
Neurologists work in collaboration with neurosurgeons and diagnostic imaging to deliver intensive and innovative therapeutic and diagnostic services to individuals with varying forms and degrees of seizures and epilepsy. Specialists perform intensive audiovisual and EEG monitoring for diagnosis and localization of the affected area. Patients worldwide are evaluated in phases to precisely determine concordance of electrophysiology, cognitive testing, history, physical and neurological examination with advanced imaging, using MRI, SPECT and PET techniques. Many advanced MRI techniques such as functional MRI, and diffusion tensor imaging are clinically performed on patients. Additionally, the National Institutes of Health supports several clinical research studies that build advanced imaging work in ultra-high field imaging, spectroscopic imaging and functional MRI to better understand complex epilepsy.
The combination of advanced clinical and research grade diagnostic techniques available at Yale is not duplicated by any other center in the U.S. Each patient is addressed individually to determine which procedure or combination of procedures—such as the use of multiple different kinds of electrodes—is appropriate in patients being considered for surgery.
The state-of-the-art operating room suite uses advanced methodologies that present multi-modal imaging data, intra-operative MRI, computerized stereotaxy and sophisticated electrophysiology in order to perform optimal, yet safe, resections and to place intracranial electrodes for those patients who need invasive electrophysiological confirmation of an epileptogenic region.
Yale conducts basic and clinical research in all areas; physiology, biochemistry, basic science, and imaging, making this one of the most progressive program in the country. Yale School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Hospital are participating in a multi-center, FDA-approved feasibility clinical investigation of a responsive brain neurostimulator device for the treatment of epilepsy. The neurostimulator is designed to detect seizures in patients with epilepsy and to deliver mild electrical stimulation to suppress seizures before the patient has any symptoms. Also, Yale is part of a multi-institution consortium testing triggered deep-brain stimulation, a very new approach to treating uncontrolled epilepsy.
The Yale Comprehensive Epilepsy Center has been the leader in a multi-center study on long-term outcome of epilepsy surgery and has been recognized by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers as a Level 4 epilepsy center.
Level 4 epilepsy centers have the professional expertise and facilities to provide the highest level medical and surgical evaluation and treatment for patients with complex epilepsy.
Yale School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Hospital are participating in multi-center trials that include a clinical trial for childhood absence epilepsy and an outcome of epilepsy surgery.
Several medical treatments are available to patients including antiepileptic drugs, ketogenic diet and other alternative treatments.
Our History
Learn more about our history.
Learn more about those we hold in memoriam.
Contact Us
Adult and Pediatric Epilepsy Service
For all patient-related issues including appointments, medical records, prescriptions, directions, etc., please contact us at (203) 785-3865.
Epilepsy Administration
For all other matters including academics, administration, etc., please contact Carole Amarakoon at (203) 737-5098.
Non clinical emails can be sent to epilepsy@yale.edu
