Epilepsy, a prevalent neurological disorder characterized by high morbidity, frequent recurrence, and potential drug resistance, profoundly affects millions of people globally. Understanding the microscopic mechanisms underlying seizures is crucial for effective epilepsy treatment, and a thorough understanding of the intricate neural circuits underlying epilepsy is vital for the development of targeted therapies and the enhancement of clinical outcomes. This review begins with an exploration of the historical evolution of techniques used in studying neural circuits related to epilepsy. It then provides an extensive overview of diverse techniques employed in this domain, discussing their fundamental principles, strengths, limitations, as well as their application. Additionally, the synthesis of multiple techniques to unveil the complexity of neural circuits is summarized. Finally, this review also presents targeted drug therapies associated with epileptic neural circuits. By providing a critical assessment of methodologies used in the study of epileptic neural circuits, this review seeks to enhance the understanding of these techniques, stimulate innovative approaches for unraveling epilepsy's complexities, and ultimately facilitate improved treatment and clinical translation for epilepsy.

Graphical Abstract

摘要

癫痫是一种常见的神经系统疾病，其特点是发病率高、复发率高和潜在的耐药性，深刻影响着全球数百万人。了解癫痫发作的微观机制对于有效的癫痫治疗至关重要，而彻底了解癫痫背后的复杂神经回路对于开发靶向治疗和改善临床结果至关重要。这篇综述首先探讨了用于研究癫痫相关神经回路的技术的历史演变。然后，它对该领域中使用的各种技术进行了广泛的概述，讨论了它们的基本原理、优点、局限性及其应用。此外，还总结了揭示神经回路复杂性的多种技术的综合。最后，本综述还提出了与癫痫神经回路相关的靶向药物治疗。通过对癫痫神经回路研究中使用的方法进行批判性评估，本综述旨在增强对这些技术的理解，激发解决癫痫复杂性的创新方法，并最终促进癫痫治疗和临床转化的改进。