Book excerpt: No other neurological condition allows the same opportunities for an intracranial electrophysiological study of the human brain as epilepsy does. Epileptic surgery is designed to remove the epileptic focus from the human brain, thereby effecting either cure or substantial reduction of seizures in an individual with an otherwise intractable condition. Its use as a treatment modality dates from the late 19th century, and it has become a widely used treatment option throughout the world in the last 20-30 years. The complexity of epilepsy cases in surgical centres, and the need for invasive electrode studies for pre-surgical evaluation, are both greatly increasing. Invasive Studies of the Human Epileptic Brain is the definitive reference text on the use of invasive electroencephalographic (EEG) diagnostic studies in human epilepsy. Written by some of the most renowned epilepsy experts of the 20th and 21st centuries, the authors provide their expertise and insights into the identification and mapping of intracranial epileptiform and non-epileptiform activity, mapping of the human brain function, and approaches in the use of invasive electroencephalography in a variety of clinical situations. The book is organized into an easily readable series of chapters and is brilliantly illustrated with case studies; each providing an intuitively comprehensive approach to invasive brain studies.