Hypothalamic hamartomas are a rare tumor, most often often found in children, which cause epileptic seizures. We are working in collaboration with the Barrow Hypothalamic Hamartoma Center to record single neuron activity in these tumors prior to their resection.
Our primary goals in these recordings are to determine if there are separate patterns of firing activity in-situ which correspond to the two separate classes of cells which have been identified in-vitro. Such distinctions may provide clues as to the way these tumors cause seizures throughout the brain, enabling development of improved treatments in the future for this debilitating type of tumor.