Stress, the hippocampus, and epilepsy.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Endocrinology
• Epilepsy Research

Background:

• Stress is a common seizure trigger in epilepsy.
• Stress mediators, including hormones, play a role in seizure precipitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the role of stress mediators in epilepsy.
• To highlight cellular effects of stress hormones in the rodent hippocampus.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on stress mediators and epilepsy.
• Focus on cellular effects in the rodent hippocampus, including CA1/CA3 and dentate gyrus.

Main Results:

• Corticosterone rapidly enhances hippocampal activity and later increases calcium influx, posing injury risk during seizures.
• Neurosteroids may enhance inhibitory tone in the dentate gyrus.
• Repetitive or early life stress diminishes inhibitory tone, increasing excitation and accelerating epileptogenesis.

Conclusions:

• Stress hormones significantly influence seizure susceptibility in epilepsy.
• Early life and repetitive stress alter hormonal effects, increasing seizure risk.
• Targeting stress pathways, potentially with antiglucocorticoids, may offer new epilepsy treatment strategies.