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Updated: Apr 11, 2026

Recording and Modulation of Epileptiform Activity in Rodent Brain Slices Coupled to Microelectrode Arrays
Published on: May 15, 2018
The role of inhibition in epileptic networks
Andrew J Trevelyan1, Sarah F Muldoon, Edward M Merricks
1*Institute of Neuroscience, Medical School, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom; †Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.; ‡US Army Research Laboratory, Maryland, U.S.A.; and §Neurology Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Abstract:
Inhibition plays many roles in cortical circuits, including coordination of network activity in different brain rhythms and neuronal clusters, gating of activity, gain control, and dictating the manner in which activity flows through the network. This latter is particularly relevant to epileptic states, when extreme hypersynchronous discharges can spread across cortical territories. We review these different physiological and pathological roles and discuss how inhibition can be compromised and why this predisposes the network to seizures.
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