The present study aimed at establishing two models of experimental seizures by combination treatment with subconvulsive doses of PTZ and kainic acid in adult male mice and evaluating the modulatory role of cerebroselective dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker, nimodipine. The CD50 +/- SEM value for PTZ was found to be 20.00 +/- 0.92 mg/kg, ip in kainic acid (administered at per se subconvuls...

Epilepsy is a chronic brain disorder involving recurring seizures often precipitated by an earlier neuronal insult. The mechanisms that link the transient neuronal insult to the lasting state of epilepsy are unknown. Here we tested the possible role of DNA methylation in mediating long-term induction of epileptiform activity by transient kainic acid exposure using in vitro and in vivo rodent mo...

We showed previously that genetic absence epilepsy rats from Strasbourg (GAERS) resist secondary generalization of focal limbic seizures after electrical kindling. We now investigate the effect of intra-amygdaloid injection of kainic acid, as another model of temporal lobe epilepsy, focusing on epileptogenesis, spike-and-wave discharges (SWDs), and the transition from basal to SWD states in GAE...

Early hyperthyroidism induces an aberrant growth of hippocampal mossy fibers both in the fascia dentata (supragranular layer) and in Ammon's horn (infrapyramidal layer of CA3). Using a quantitative autoradiographic method, we found a corresponding increase in kainic acid binding sites supporting previous observations of a very close association between mossy fiber terminals and kainic acid bind...

The effect of kainic and quinolinic acid on cortical cholinergic function was examined following injections of these agents into the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (nbm) or into the frontoparietal cortex. The release of cortical 3H-acetylcholine (3H-ACh), high affinity choline uptake (HACU) and acetylcholinesterase was measured 7 days following injections of saline (control), kainic acid (4.7 ...

We investigated the effect of the excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptor agonists L-glutamate, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), (RS)-a-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) and kainic acid on KCl-induced contractions of rabbit tracheal smooth muscle, as well as the role of epithelium and endogenously produced nitric oxide and prostaglandins on these responses. L-Glutamate decreas...

Increasing evidence implicates glutamate receptor over-stimulation in the neurotoxicity associated with a host of metabolic insults, including seizures and hypoxia-ischemia. To begin to understand more completely the role of energy metabolism in the mechanism of neuron death following excitatory amino acid exposure, we investigated the effects of kainic acid exposure on metabolic rate in cultur...

stained sections (B, D) of a control (A, B) and a kainic acid treated (C, D) animals. Black arrows indicate mossy fiber sprouting in the inner molecular layer of a kainic acid treated animal in Timm stained section (C). White arrows show increased density of myelinated fibers in outer molecular layer in myelin stained section (D). Scale bar: 500 μm. In vivo detection of axonal plasticity in rat...

Chronic stimulation of the nervous system or acute administration of kainic acid results in a persistent increase in AP-1-like DNA-binding activity in the brain. However, the composition and function of these AP-1 complexes remain controversial. By comparing wild-type and fosB-null mice treated with kainic acid, we establish that the complexes comprise JunD in association with an approximately ...

This study investigates the temporal dynamics of ictal electrical activity induced by injection of the GABA(A) receptor antagonist bicuculline, and the glutamate agonist kainic acid, into the CA3 area of hippocampus. Experiments were conducted in freely moving adult Wistar rats implanted with microelectrodes in multiple brain areas. Wide-band electrical activity (0.1-3000 Hz) was recorded, and ...