Observations on the application of the correlation dimension and correlation integral to the prediction of seizures.

The authors reexamine the correlation integral and the related correlation dimension in the context of EEG analysis with application to seizure prediction. They identify dependencies of the correlation integral and the correlation dimension on frequency and amplitude of the signal, which may result in a reinterpretation of the dynamic importance of these measures and may cast doubts on their predictive abilities for certain classes of seizures. The relevance, for clinical and research purposes, of the distinction between retrospective and prospective inference (prediction) is addressed briefly. The authors point to the need for further research, consisting of long time series, containing multiple seizures, and for the development of objective prediction criteria.