Controlled Randomized Stimulation Versus Resection (CoRaStiR)

Inclusion Criteria: * Presurgical candidates with pharmacoresistant partial seizures despite optimal medical treatment and history of temporal lobe epilepsy * Age above 18 years * TIQ \> 80 * Able to give informed consent * Average of 2 partial seizures per month during a baseline of 3 months. Recording of seizures must have been done in a prospective manner using standard seizure diaries. * Able to adequately report seizure frequencies using standard seizure diaries * Video-EEG characteristics showing temporal lobe seizure onset (left-sided or right-sided seizure onset) in at least one recorded habitual seizure * Presence of a structural abnormality in the medial temporal lobe, suggestive of hippocampal sclerosis as evidenced by optimum MRI * Women of child-bearing age will be required to use a reliable method of contraception during the study duration Exclusion Criteria: * Extratemporal epilepsy; multifocal epilepsy; evidence of bilateral medial temporal lobe epilepsy * MR evidence of potentially epileptogenic lesions outside the medial temporal lobe such as dysplasias, tumours or cavernomas * Prior resective intracranial surgery * Patients who are candidates for invasive video-EEG recording or have previously been investigated with invasive video-EEG recording * Patients who previously underwent any other type of neurostimulation for treating epilepsy * Patients who are unable to fill in questionnaires and comply with protocol requirements * Progressive neurological or medical conditions * Medical or psychiatric conditions precluding surgery or compliance * Patients taking antidepressant medication * Pregnancy at study onset * Previous (within the last 3 months), ongoing or planned participation in other treatment study protocols for epilepsy * Contraindication for intracranial surgery