Regulation of Postnatal Dentate Gyrus Neurogenesis and its Alteration in Experimental Epilepsy

............................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 Neurogenesis in the Adult Mammalian Brain ............................................. 1 The Role of Adult Neurogenesis ..................................................... 3 Epilepsy and Neurogenesis ......................................................................... 4 Morphological Abnormalities in mTLE ...................................................... 7 Mossy Fiber Sprouting .................................................................... 8 Hilar Ectopic Granule Cells ............................................................ 9 Hilar Basal Dendrites .................................................................... 10 Functional Implications of Seizure Induced Dentate Gyrus Plasticity ..... 11 Mossy Fiber Sprouting .................................................................. 11 Hilar Basal Dendrites .................................................................... 12 Hilar Ectopic Granule Cells .......................................................... 13 Co-morbidities Associated with Epilepsy ................................................. 14 Overview of the Reelin Signaling Pathway .............................................. 16 The Reelin Pathway ...................................................................... 16 The Reelin Pathway in Epilepsy ............................................................... 21 Questions Addressed in this Dissertation .................................................. 22 Figures ....................................................................................................... 23 References ................................................................................................. 26 Chapter 2: The Developmental Stage of Dentate Granule Cells Dictates Their Contribution to Seizure-Induced Plasticity Abstract ..................................................................................................... 38 Introduction ............................................................................................... 39 Materials and Methods .............................................................................. 41 Results ....................................................................................................... 46 Discussion ................................................................................................. 55 Notes to Chapter 2 ..................................................................................... 61 Figures ....................................................................................................... 64 References ................................................................................................. 72