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Updated: Mar 7, 2026

A Behavioral Screen for Heat-Induced Seizures in Mouse Models of Epilepsy
Published on: July 12, 2021
Intergenerational Transmission of Enhanced Seizure Susceptibility after Febrile Seizures
Dengchang Wu1, Bo Feng2, Yunjian Dai2
1Department of Pharmacology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of the Ministry of Health of China, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Department of Neurology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Abstract:
Environmental exposure early in development plays a role in susceptibility to disease in later life. Here, we demonstrate that prolonged febrile seizures induced by exposure of rat pups to a hyperthermic environment enhance seizure susceptibility not only in these hyperthermia-treated rats but also in their future offspring, even if the offspring never experience febrile seizures. This transgenerational transmission was intensity-dependent and was mainly from mothers to their offspring. The transmission was associated with DNA methylation. Thus, our study supports a "Lamarckian"-like mechanism of pathogenesis and the crucial role of epigenetic factors in neurological conditions.
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