The 4th Advanced Seminar in Neurosurgical Research was held on May 17th-18th, 1989 in the Abbey of Praglia, a XIIth century Benedictine Monastery, near Padua, Italy, and was devoted to "Neurosurgical Aspects of Epilepsy". The general aim of these Advanced Seminars is to bring together European Neurosurgeons interested or involved in research, either clinically, experimentally or both, in a given field in order to achieve in-depth informal discussions not possible in the more conventional large congress. In particular, these Advanced Seminars seek to provide high level teaching by experienced basic scientists, to provide "state of the art" assessment of the subject and to highlight areas of controversy that might be suitable for future research. A special effort is made to identify younger Neurosurgeons, partly through the auspices of the European Directory of Neurosurgical Research, who have a particular interest in the subject under discussion, not all of whom will have immediate access to the most advanced, modern technology. Surgical treatment of epilepsy is an expanding area of endeavour and an expertise that remains underutilized in many countries. The programme for this Seminar was designed to paint the broad background, moving from basic membrane electrophysiology through to cost benefit analysis and rehabilitation. The perspectives of neu ropathology, neurology, neuroradiology, nuclear medicine, neuropsychology, neurophysiology and the drug in dustry are all included.

Inhalt
The Epileptic Focus versus the Pathological Focus.- Membrane Electrophysiology of Epileptiform Activity in the Hippocampus.- Pathophysiology of Acute Brain Damage Following Epilepsy.- Sampling Extracellular Amino Acids from the Brain Surface During Epilepsy Surgery Abstract of Discussion.- Neuropathology of Epilepsy.- Problems of Drug Surveillance an International View.- The Epidemiology of Drug Resistant Epilepsy and Adverse Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs.- Posttraumatic Epilepsy. Incidence and Prophylaxis.- Controversies in Posttraumatic Epilepsy.- Epilepsy Following Neurosurgical Intervention.- Post-operative Epilepsy and the Efficacy of Anticonvulsant Therapy.- Principles of Surgery for Epilepsy.- Selection Criteria for Surgery Clinical Features and EEG Including Invasive Techniques.- Selection Criteria for Epilepsy Surgery: Psychometric Evaluation.- Neuroradiology Including Magnetic Resonance.- SPECT in the Presurgical Evaluation of Patients with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy a Preliminary Report.- Positron Emission Tomography Findings Relevant to Neurosurgery for Epilepsy.- Quantitative Analyses of 18/FDG-PET in the Presurgical Evaluation of Patients Suffering from Refractory Partial Epilepsy.- Identification of the Side of the Epileptic Focus with 123I-Iomazenil SPECT.- Pre- and Postoperative Rehabilitation Related to Epilepsy Surgery.- Why Are so Few Patients Operated on for Epilepsy? A Yugoslavian Perspective.- Why Are so Few Patients with Epilepsy Treated Surgically? A United Kingdom Perspective.- Temporal Lobectomy.- The Zürich Amygdalo-Hippocampectomy Series: A Short Up-date.- Cortical Resections Outside the Temporal Lobe for Intractable Epilepsy Excluding Multilobar Resections and Hemispherectomy.- The Place of Hemispherectomy and MajorCortical Resection in the Control of Drug Resistant Epilepsy.- Callosotomy for the Treatment of Drug Resistant Generalized Seizures.- Soviet Investigations in Epilepsy.- Neurosurgical Aspects of Epilepsy. A Review of the Seminar.