Fabrice Bartolomei Explained

Fabrice Bartolomei
Nationality:	French
Alma Mater:	Aix-Marseille University University of Amsterdam
Discipline:	Neurology
Sub Discipline:	Epilepsy
Workplaces:	Aix-Marseille University
Main Interests:	Presurgical evaluation of patients with drug resistant epilepsy. World leader in the analysis of Stereo-EEG recordings

Fabrice Bartolomei is a French neurophysiologist, and University Professor at Aix-Marseille University (AMU), leading the Service de Neurophysiologie Clinique of the Timone Hospital at the Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille, and he is the medical director of the ‘Centre Saint-Paul - Hopital Henri Gastaut’. He is the coordinator of the clinical network CINAPSE that is dedicated to the management of adult and pediatric cases of severe epilepsy and leader of the Federation Hospitalo-Universitaire Epinext. He is also member of the research unit Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes.

He is the coordinator of the "Improving Epilepsy surgery management and prognosis using Virtual brain technology" (EPINOV) project funded in the context of the RHU3 call.^{[1] [2]}

Education and early career

Bartolomei obtained his medical diploma as neurologist in 1994, followed a PhD in neuroscience in 1997 from the Aix-Marseille University, and had a 1-year post-doctoral fellowship in 2004 at the MEG Center of the University of Amsterdam under the mentorship of C.J. Stam. He is a specialist on epilepsy and mental disorders, and a world leader in the analysis of Stereo-EEG recordings.^[3] His current research activities are mainly focused in the presurgical evaluation of patients with drug resistant epilepsy.^[4]

Research work

Bartolomei has developed the concept of “Epileptogenic Networks” a dynamic vision of focal epilepsy in order to replace the traditional “focus” vision. This concept of epileptogenic networks is crucial in the context of epilepsy surgery and has been developed from network based approaches in Stereoelectroencephalographic recordings (SEEG) a method developed to record the intracerebral EEG. The research on human epilepsies led by Bartolomei is mainly focused on the characterization of epileptogenic networks in focal epilepsy, particularly in the context of presurgical evaluation in the INS (INSERM 1106) unit. His key contributions can be summarized as follows:

• Source Localization (E/MEG) of Interictal activities in collaboration with Team DYNAMAP INS^[5]
• Quantification of Ictal versus Interictal networks in the context of the ANR grant "FORCE"^[6]
• Topological changes associated with partial epilepsy in the interictal period from SEEG signals ^[7] or MRI bold connectivity ^[8]
• Ictal Networks: definition of different subtypes of premotor/motor seizures^[9] and parietal seizures, changes in ictal connectivity and correlated with déjà vu or loss of consciousness ^{[10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]}
• Role of thalamo-cortical synchrony in seizure termination showing that some patterns of termination are under the influence of thalamic outputs.^[16]
• Modulation of Epileptogenic networks: vagal nerve stimulation VNS is efficient in epileptic patients provided that it induces a decrease of functional connectivity,^[17] effect of biofeedback in stress related seizures^[18]
• Large scale brain networks in silico models in the context of the ANR grant “Vibrations”: in collaboration with the team of F Wendling from LTSI Rennes and the TNG team of Viktor K. Jirsa at the INS: role of macroscale networks in epilepsy,^[19] Virtual Brain modeling in focal epilepsy^{[20] [21]}

The work done in collaboration with Viktor K. Jirsa in the context of the Epinext network on the virtual epileptic patient is at the basis of the Epinov project.Bartolomei has also been involved in animal research studies dealing with stress influence on epileptogenesis ^[22]

He is the co-inventor of the “Epileptogenicity Index, a method for assessing epileptogenicity of brain regions".^[23]

He has also discovered the role of the rhinal/entorhinal cortices in the production of déjà vu, a phenomenon obtained from intracerebral stimulations,^{[24] [25] [26]}

The service that Bartolomei leads at the AP-HM has been selected as reference center in the French national network of rare epilepsies.^[27]

He authored/co-authored over 260 peer-reviewed publications.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Où en est le projet Epinov ?. La Tribune. 29 March 2018. fr-FR.
2. Web site: Épilepsie : l'étude qui peut changer la chirurgie. La Provence. fr. 8 January 2018.
3. Web site: Épilepsie : 700 000 Français doivent adapter leur vie. La Provence. fr. 6 February 2017.
4. Bartolomei. Fabrice. Roger. Joseph. Genton. Pierre. Dravet. Charlotte. Bureau. Michèle. Gastaut. Jean-Louis. Development of intracranial tumors in patients with long-standing preexisting epilepsy. Journal of Epilepsy. 8. 4. 289–294. English. 10.1016/0896-6974(95)00033-X. 1995.
5. Badier JM, Bartolomei F, Chauvel P, Bénar CG, Gavaret M. Magnetic source imaging in posterior cortex epilepsies. Brain Topogr. 2015 Jan;28(1):162-71. doi: 10.1007/s10548-014-0412-4
6. Bartolomei F, Trébuchon A, Bonini F, Lambert I, Gavaret M, Woodman M, Giusiano B, Wendling F, Bénar C. What is the concordance between the seizure onset zone and the irritative zone? A SEEG quantified study. Clin Neurophysiol. 2016 Feb;127(2):1157-62. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2015.10.029
7. Bartolomei F, Bettus G, Stam CJ, Guye M. Interictal network properties in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy: a graph theoretical study from intracerebral recordings. Clin Neurophysiol. 2013 Dec;124(12):2345-53
8. Ridley BG, Rousseau C, Wirsich J, Le Troter A, Soulier E, Confort-Gouny S,Bartolomei F, Ranjeva JP, Achard S, Guye M. Nodal approach reveals differential impact of lateralized focal epilepsies on hub reorganization. Neuroimage. 2015 Sep;118:39-48. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.05.096.
9. Bonini F, McGonigal A, Wendling F, Régis J, Scavarda D, Carron R, Chauvel P, Bartolomei F. Epileptogenic networks in seizures arising from motor systems. Epilepsy Res. 2013 Sep;106(1-2):92-102. doi: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2013.04.011.
10. Bartolomei F. Coherent neural activity and brain synchronization during seizure-induced loss of consciousness. Arch Ital Biol. 2012 Jun-Sep;150(2-3):164-71. doi: 10.4449/aib.v150i2.1252. Review
11. Bartolomei F, McGonigal A, Naccache L. Alteration of consciousness in focal epilepsy: the global workspace alteration theory. Epilepsy Behav. 2014 Jan;30:17-23. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2013.09.012. Review
12. Bartolomei F, Naccache L. The global workspace (GW) theory of consciousness and epilepsy. Behav Neurol. 2011;24(1):67-74. doi: 10.3233/BEN-2011-0313. Review.
13. Lambert I, Arthuis M, McGonigal A, Wendling F, Bartolomei F. Alteration of global workspace during loss of consciousness: a study of parietal seizures. Epilepsia. 2012 Dec;53(12):2104-10. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2012.03690.x
14. Bartolomei F, Tramoni E, Félician O. In response: transient epileptic amnesia. Epilepsia. 2014 Oct;55(10):1678. doi: 10.1111/epi.12746
15. Bonini F, Lambert I, Wendling F, McGonigal A, Bartolomei F. Altered synchrony and loss of consciousness during frontal lobe seizures. Clin Neurophysiol. 2016 Feb;127(2):1170-5. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2015.04.050
16. Evangelista E, Bénar C, Bonini F, Carron R, Colombet B, Régis J, Bartolomei F. Does the Thalamo-Cortical Synchrony Play a Role in Seizure Termination? Front Neurol. 2015 Sep 1;6:192. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2015.00192
17. Bodin C, Aubert S, Daquin G, Carron R, Scavarda D, McGonigal A, Bartolomei F. Responders to vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in refractory epilepsy have reduced interictal cortical synchronicity on scalp EEG. Epilepsy Res. 2015Jul;113:98-103. doi: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2015.03.018
18. Micoulaud-Franchi JA, Kotwas I, Lanteaume L, Berthet C, Bastien M, Vion-Dury J, McGonigal A, Bartolomei F. Skin conductance biofeedback training in adults with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy and stress-triggered seizures: a proof-of-concept study. Epilepsy Behav. 2014 Dec;41:244-50. doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2014.10.017
19. Wendling F, Benquet P, Bartolomei F, Jirsa V. Computational models of epileptiform activity. J Neurosci Methods. 2016 Feb 15;260:233-51. doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2015.03.027. Review
20. Proix T, Bartolomei F, Chauvel P, Bernard C, Jirsa VK. Permittivity coupling across brain regions determines seizure recruitment in partial epilepsy. J Neurosci. 2014 Nov 5;34(45):15009-21. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1570-14.2014.
21. Jirsa VK, Proix T, Perdikis D, Woodman MM, Wang H, Gonzalez-Martinez J, Bernard C, Bénar C, Guye M, Chauvel P, Bartolomei F. The Virtual Epileptic Patient: Individualized whole-brain models of epilepsy spread. Neuroimage. 2017 Jan 15;145(Pt B):377-388. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.04.049
22. Becker C, Bouvier E, Ghestem A, Siyoucef S, Claverie D, Camus F, BartolomeiF, Benoliel JJ, Bernard C. Predicting and treating stress-induced vulnerability to epilepsy and depression. Ann Neurol. 2015 Jul;78(1):128-36. doi:10.1002/ana.24414.
23. Bartolomei F, Chauvel P, Wendling F. Epileptogenicity of brain structures in human temporal lobe epilepsy: a quantified study from intracerebral EEG. Brain 2008;131:1818-1830
24. Bartolomei F, Barbeau E, Gavaret M, et al. Cortical stimulation study of the role of rhinal cortex in deja vu and reminiscence of memories. Neurology 2004;63:858-864
25. News: Le "déjà vu", un imparfait du présent. Le Monde.fr. 13 September 2012. fr.
26. Web site: De la paramnésie à la télépathie. Le Figaro. fr-FR. 13 November 2009.
27. Web site: VIDEO. Epilepsie: Quand les ordinateurs aident les médecins. 20 minutes. 19 January 2018 . fr.