Double-pulse stimulation of the perforant path input to the dentate gyrus was used in the following experiments to produce paired pulse depression in that site. This effect provided an estimate of GABA-mediated recurrent inhibition. The depression was enhanced by drugs that facilitate or mimic GABA action and attenuated by drugs which block GABA transmission. Paired-pulse depression was signifi...

It has been suggested that expression of the immediate early gene c-fos links fleeting changes in neuronal activity to lasting modifications of neuronal structure and function in the mammalian nervous system. To test this idea, we examined behavioral and electrophysiological indices of kindling development and kindling-induced sprouting of hippocampal granule cell axons in wild-type (+/+), hete...

Brain cyclooxygenases (COX), the rate-limiting enzyme in prostaglandin synthesis, is rapidly and transiently induced by convulsions in hippocampal and cortical neurons. Previous studies have explored the protective effect of naproxen (non-selective COX-inhibitor) or rofecoxib (selective COX-2 inhibitor) against chemical kindling in mice. With this background, the present study was designed to e...

Developmental PCB exposure impairs hearing and induces brainstem audiogenic seizures in adult offspring. The degree to which this enhanced susceptibility to seizure is manifest in other brain regions has not been examined. Thus, electrical kindling of the amygdala was used to evaluate the effect of developmental exposure to an environmentally relevant PCB mixture on seizure susceptibility in th...

Objective. Studies are ongoing to find appropriate low frequency stimulation (LFS) protocol for treatment of epilepsy. The present study aimed at assessing the antiepileptogenesis effects of LFS with the same protocol applied either just before or immediately after kindling stimulations. Method. This experimental animal study was conducted on adult Wistar rats (200 ± 20 g) randomly divided into...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Studies in the animals suggested that Peroxisome proliferators activated receptors (PPARs) may be involved in seizure control and selective agonists of PPAR α or PPAR γ raise seizure thresholds. The present study was contemplated with the aim of evaluating the anti kindling effects and the mechanism of bezafibrate, a Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors α (PPAR-α) ...

Calcium is an important second messenger which plays a role in the regulation of neuronal excitability and in many forms of synaptic plasticity. In kindling epileptogenesis, a model of focal epilepsy, calcium plays an important role. The in situ patch-clamp technique was used to record calcium currents in slices obtained from kindled rats and controls. We found that low-voltage-activated calciu...

Fragile X syndrome (FXS), caused by silencing of the Fmr1 gene, is the most common form of inherited mental retardation. Epilepsy is reported to occur in 20-25% of individuals with FXS. However, no overall increased excitability has been reported in Fmr1 knockout (KO) mice, except for increased sensitivity to auditory stimulation. Here, we report that kindling increased the expressions of Fmr1 ...