Why did NeuroPace put its leads in the thalamus to treat generalized epilepsy? · Grey Matter

Generalized seizures involve both hemispheres from their first second, so there is no single focus where a lead could listen and stimulate as it does in focal epilepsy.

Why did NeuroPace put its leads in the thalamus to treat generalized epilepsy?

Generalized seizures involve both hemispheres from their first second, so there is no single focus where a lead could listen and stimulate as it does in focal epilepsy. The thalamus is the relay that the whole cortex shares, and its centromedian nucleus projects widely to both hemispheres and takes part in the rhythms that spread a generalized seizure. In the NAUTILUS trial each participant received one depth lead in the centromedian nucleus of each side, so a single small device could listen to, and act on, a circuit that reaches the entire cortex.