Visual inspection and qualitative impressions of clinical EEG abnormalities are being replaced by quantitative characterization of scalp voltage fields and dipole modeling of underlying cerebral sources. Three approaches have been used in the analysis of focal spikes of complex partial epilepsy. 1) Instantaneous, single dipole, inverse solutions for the voltage topography of the spike peak have revealed two distinct equivalent dipole configurations in the brain lobe beneath the negative extreme-radial and oblique (mixed radial and tangential). Only radial dipoles have been found for frontal and fronto-central spikes, while either type have been found for temporal and occipital spike foci. 2) Dipole stability can be assessed by an inspection of sequential instantaneous solutions encompassing the spike complex or by calculating the standard deviation of dipole location (x,y,z) and orientation (elevation, azimuth) parameters during this period. Two-thirds of spike dipoles of the radial type and essentially all of the oblique equivalent dipoles were found to be stable, whereas one-third of the radial dipoles were unstable in position or orientation. 3) Spatio-temporal analysis can identify multiple underlying sources and their potentials. Modeling separate radial and tangential dipoles over the course of the spike has revealed a composite character for spike fields with oblique dipoles and often has defined leads or lags in activity that suggested propagation between infero-mesial and lateral temporal cortex. Correlations with clinical and intracranial EEG data suggest that patients with mesial temporal sclerosis have spikes with oblique and stable equivalent dipoles; patients with discrete cortical lesions have spikes with radial and stable dipoles; patients with extensive or multi-focal cortical insults have spikes with radial and unstable dipoles.