**1. Introduction**

According to the world statistics, epilepsy takes the third place among overall morbidity after cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus and the third place in neurological morbidity [1]. Therefore, epilepsy is a relevant public health problem both in Russia and abroad [2]. This fact fosters the development and implementation of medicinal and alternative (nondrug) methods of epilepsy treatment around the world. However, current epilepsy treatment options allow achieving remission or reducing the number of seizures only in 60–70% of patients [3].

An important problem of epileptology is ensuring the safety and acceptability of the treatment as well as prevention of adverse drug reaction (ADR) of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). The emergence of the ASEs can often decrease patients' life quality, thereby offsetting the positive effect of the treatment. Moreover, such ASEs as depression and anxiety (the fear of the coming seizure) may aggravate epileptic seizures [4]. Some ASEs are associated with the AEDs' effects on the liver enzymes.

These effects cause induction or inhibition of the liver enzymes, making other AEDs displaced from protein linkages. These reactions increase the rate of metabolism and cause the reduction of the plasma concentration of ADRs, which may lead to difficulties in the choice of AEDs' dosage. On average, the frequency of ASEs and complications of antiepileptic therapy remains high and varies, according to different authors, from 7 to 25% [5–7].

Therefore, the presence of ADRs requires the immediate withdrawal of AEDs, even if the drug-induced epilepsy remission is achieved. It should be noted that 40% of epileptic patients need polytherapy. This leads to the increase in the ADRs' frequency, adverse drug-drug interactions, and teratogenicity [8]. Also, there are difficulties in assessing the effectiveness of ADRs of a single drug. Drug-drug interactions often decrease antiepileptic treatment efficiency and contribute to the development of ADRs [2, 9, 10].

Consequently, nondrug methods of epilepsy treatment should also be used, both as an additional therapy and (in some cases) as the basic therapy (e.g., vagus nerve stimulation) (see **Table 1**).

The principle of the dominant was introduced in neurophysiology by the outstanding Russian physiologist Uchtomsky in 1911 [11]. Under "the dominant" he meant the dominant reflex system, which determines the integral nature of the functioning of the nerve centers in any period of time and ensures the appropriate behavior of animal and human. He also described the dominants' properties, the main of which were increased excitability, the ability to summation, high resistance, and inertia of excitation. Also, a theory of pathological dominant was suggested. Within this theory, pathological dominant represents sharply enhanced focus of excitation in the central nervous system, caused by "pathogenic effects of the environment."

Later, in 1980, Kryzhanovskii developed the doctrine of "pathological determinant." The latter was described as a "modified formation of the central nervous system, forming a pathological system and determining the nature of its activities" [12]. According to this doctrine, the determinant can form a pathological system in the central nervous system. The feature of the pathological system is the ability to suppress the physiological system. Such pathophysiological mechanisms underlie most neurological disorders. Kryzhanovskii proposed a mechanism of fighting the pathological dominant by introducing another, more powerful dominant [13]. A significant part of the research dedicated to the hand tapping is based on this mechanism.

According to Rudnev, the cyclical nature of movements in wrist tapping is a natural statistical regularity that is a standard you can compare different parameters


**135**

*The Role of Nondrug Treatment Methods in the Management of Epilepsy*

ogy at different levels of the human nervous system [14].

**2.1 Nonpharmacological noninvasive therapy**

to. Consequently, the study of these biologically appropriate movements makes it possible to establish a pattern of certain rates and rhythms that occurs in the pathol-

Currently, it is the practice to distinguish three fundamental categories of psychotherapeutic techniques, used in epileptology: rewards/sanctions, self-control, and neurofeedback. "Rewards/sanctions" and "self-control" categories are used for self-induced seizures and for so-called reflective attacks as well as for epileptic seizures, amplifying under the influence of emotional factors. Neurofeedback is a nonpharmacological method of epilepsy treatment with objective registration, amplification, and "feedback" of physiological information to the patient. This method is based on the principle of self-identification of one's own EEG data.

Based on the information from different authors, using neurofeedback can lead to a great reduction in the number of seizures in 50% cases of patients with epileptic risk factors. From this 50%, in 10% of cases, it is possible to completely discontinue AEDs without reappearance of epileptic seizures for 2–3 years and more, and in the remaining 40–50% of cases after the use of the neurofeedback method, it is possible

There are also art therapy options for epilepsy treatment. For example, there is an actively developing method, based on the creation of therapeutic music to reduce the number of epileptic seizures. This method is based on the theory that epileptic seizures occur because of abnormal synchronization of the brain's electric activity, and the majority of them stop spontaneously. The effect of structured auditory stimuli provides noninvasive galvanic cortex stimulation, which can reduce epileptiform

To prove this hypothesis, authors conducted a randomized research, which explored the effectiveness of music therapy for patients diagnosed with epilepsy [17]. Patients were exposed to Mozart's music every night for 1 year. Based on the results of the research, a 17% reduction in the number of epileptic seizures was noticed. The achieved effect remained stable during the next year [18, 19]. In another randomized research, which studied both children and adult patients with epilepsy, it was revealed that 85% of patients had a positive response to music therapy with an average reduction of epileptiform activity index by 31% during the

Aromatherapy can be useful (for achieving a state of relaxation) as a component of epilepsy behavioral treatment. However, its use is more justified for the treatment of conditions, accompanying epilepsy, such as anxiety and depression. In the application of aromatherapy for patients with epilepsy, camphora, sage, and rosemary should be avoided because these substances are known to aggravate patients'

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81912*

**2. Results and their discussion**

to have pharmacological treatment [15].

music listening and by 24% after it **[**20–28].

condition and increase the number of epileptic seizures [10].

*2.1.1 Psychotherapy*

*2.1.2 Art therapy*

activity [16].

*2.1.3 Aromatherapy*

### **Table 1.** *Nondrug methods of epilepsy treatment.*

to. Consequently, the study of these biologically appropriate movements makes it possible to establish a pattern of certain rates and rhythms that occurs in the pathology at different levels of the human nervous system [14].
