Reduced exploratory activity of audiogenic seizures susceptible Wistar rats

Patients with epilepsy and animals with experimental usually show behavioral changes such as increased anxiety. Audiogenic seizures (AS) are a model of generalized tonic-clonic limbic seizures induced by sound stimulation in genetically susceptible animals. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the exploratory activity of an inbred strain derived from Wistar progenitors that has been selected in our laboratory for AS susceptibility. The exploratory activity of audiogenic seizures susceptible (S) and resistant (R) Wistar rats was measured in two situations: an open arena and the elevated plus maze, an animal model of anxiety. S animals displayed a reduced exploration in both the open arena (reduced total distance moved) and the elevated plus maze (reduced number of enclosed-arm entries). In the latter there was also a decrease in open-arm exploration, particularly of the distal part of these arms. This effect persists even when the effect of a decreased number of enclosed-arm entries is removed by analysis of covariance. Therefore, the results indicate that audiogenic seizure genetically susceptible Wistar rats display a reduced exploration of novel environments. Moreover, the results with the elevated plus maze suggest that these animals are more anxious than AS resistant rats.