Synaptic connections of seizure-sensitive neurons in the dentate gyrus

A selective loss of somatostatin- and neuropeptide Y-immunoreactive neurons has been reported in the dentate gyrus of rats with cerebral ischemia, following sustained electric stimulation, and in patients with non-tumor-related temporal lobe epilepsy. Three theoretical possibilities were tested that may explain why these neurons are more vulnerable than others, such as the cholecystokinin- and calcium-binding protein-containing cells: (1) the seizure-sensitive neurons are more involved in specific excitatory circuitry than are the seizure-resistant cells; (2) the somatostatin- and neuropeptide Y-immunoreactive neurons are less protected by inhibitory GABAergic inputs than cells immunoreactive for cholecystokinin; and (3) the seizure-sensitive neurons do not contain calcium-binding proteins. The present results of light and electron microscopic, single and double, immunostaining experiments and co-localization studies performed on the hippocampal formations of rats and non-human primates, support the idea that the calcium-binding protein content of a neuron defines its seizure sensitivity.