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Updated: Jun 17, 2025
Direct-current Stimulation and Multi-electrode Array Recording of Seizure-like Activity in Mice Brain Slice Preparation
Published on: June 7, 2016
Electrographic seizures during low-current thalamic deep brain stimulation in mice.
Francisco J Flores1, Isabella Dalla Betta2, John Tauber3
1Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit St, Boston, 02114, MA, USA; Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139, MA, USA; Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139, MA, USA.
Central thalamus deep brain stimulation (CT-DBS) can induce seizures like poly-spike-wave trains (PSWTs). Even after current titration, a small risk of PSWTs persists, necessitating EEG monitoring during CT-DBS.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neuromodulation
Background:
- Deep brain stimulation of the central thalamus (CT-DBS) is explored for consciousness modulation.
- CT-DBS carries a risk of inducing electrographic seizures, specifically poly-spike-wave trains (PSWTs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the probability of inducing PSWTs during CT-DBS in awake, freely-moving mice.
- To assess seizure risk associated with CT-DBS parameters.
Main Methods:
- Electrodes were implanted for unilateral and bilateral CT-DBS in mice, with electroencephalogram (EEG) recording.
- Stimulation current was titrated to identify the threshold for PSWT induction.
- Subsequent stimulations were conducted at currents below the seizure threshold.
Main Results:
- Poly-spike-wave trains (PSWTs) were induced in 10 out of 12 mice (2.21% of stimulations).
- Seizures occurred at currents lower than the titrated threshold, including as low as 20 μA.
Conclusions:
- A small but significant probability of inducing PSWTs exists even after titration and at low currents.
- Close EEG monitoring is crucial during CT-DBS in research and clinical settings to detect electrographic seizures.
