Imagine looking for a needle in a haystack — but without knowing what a needle looks like. This is the kind of diabolical challenge faced by epilepsy researchers seeking to identify the genes involved in focal cortical dysplasia (FCD).
Marked by brain malformations and seizures, FCD is a common cause of intractable epilepsy. The devastating effects of FCD are wrought by a tiny fraction of the brain’s billions of neurons. These rare-as-needles neurons carry genetic mutations that warp their development and function, making them prone to kicking off electrical activity that creates seizures for the rest of the brain’s haystack of neurons.
