Chemically-induced TLE models: Topical application

Epilepsy is a condition of the brain that occurs in many different forms. For obvious reasons, understanding the complex mechanisms underlying the process of epileptogenesis cannot be fully acquired in clinical studies or analyses of surgically resected human epileptic specimens. Accordingly, a variety of animal models have been developed that recapitulate different aspects of the various forms of epilepsies. In our review we mainly focus on those chemically induced models that recapitulate characteristics typically seen in human temporal lobe epilepsies. By comparing models based on topical application of different agents, advantages and disadvantages are discussed with respect to parameters including reliability and mortality, as well as the similarity with the human condition of functional and morphological alterations occurring in different brain regions in the course of epileptogenesis and in the chronic state.