Table 1.

Diagnostic modalities for epilepsy

Modality	Pros	Cons	Image glial cells
Electroencephalogram (EEG)	Non-invasive Easy and quick application Excellent sensitivity Ability to do continuous long-term monitoring	Low spatial resolution Quantitative analysis is difficult	No
Magnetic Resonance Imaging	Excellent anatomical resolution Multimodal imaging modalities (MRS, DTI etc)	Expensive High magnetic field	Yes, with MRS and potentially q-space
Single Photon Emission CT (SPECT)	Excellent for ictal events	Poor anatomical localization	Yes with TSPO ligands*
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)	High sensitivity & specificity Development of targeted radioligands	Requires synthesis laboratory for novel radioligands Requires a cyclotron	Yes with TSPO ligands**

^*123I radioligands

^**−11C, 18F radioligands