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Pentylenetetrazole-Induced Kindling Mouse Model
Published on: June 12, 2018
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Genetic resistance to kindling associated with alterations in circuit function
M Tansel Kendirli1, Edward H Bertram1
1Department of Neurology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, P.O. Box 801330, Virginia 22908-1330, USA.
Neurobiology of Disease
|June 13, 2017
Summary
Genetic factors influence how seizures spread. WAG/Rij rats show resistance to hippocampal kindling, suggesting a circuit-specific genetic effect impacting brain networks involved in seizure propagation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
- Epilepsy Research
Background:
- Seizure spread mechanisms from focal onset zones are not fully understood.
- Animal studies indicate a potential genetic influence on seizure propagation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if the kindling resistance in WAG/Rij rats is a global phenomenon or circuit-specific.
- To explore how genetic factors influence seizure spread dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Compared kindling rates of WAG/Rij rats and Sprague Dawley rats using hippocampal and medial dorsal thalamus stimulation.
- Recorded evoked responses in the prefrontal cortex following subiculum or medial dorsal thalamic nucleus stimulation.
Main Results:
- WAG/Rij rats demonstrated resistance to hippocampal kindling but not thalamic kindling.
- Reduced afterdischarge duration in WAG/Rij rats during hippocampal stimulation.
- Decreased prefrontal cortex evoked responses to subiculum stimulation in WAG/Rij rats.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest genetic influences on the subiculum to prefrontal cortex pathway in WAG/Rij rats.
- This pathway's altered excitatory drive may explain resistance to limbic kindling.
- Genetic factors play a role in circuit-specific seizure spread resistance.
