Amygdala Kindling in the WAG/Rij Rat Model of Absence Epilepsy

• Published in: Epilepsia (Copenhagen) Vol. 47; no. 1; pp. 33 - 40
• Main Authors: Aker, Rezzan Gülhan, Yananli, Hasan Raci, Gurbanova, Ayten Azizova, Özkaynakçi, Aydan Ergün, Ateş, Nurbay, Luijtelaar, Gilles, Onat, Filiz Yilmaz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 350 Main Street , Malden , MA 02148 , USA and 9600 Garsington Road , Oxford , OX4 2XG , England Blackwell Science Inc 01.01.2006; Blackwell
• Subjects: Absence epilepsy rats; Amygdala - physiology; Animals; Anticonvulsants. Antiepileptics. Antiparkinson agents; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Mapping; Cerebral Cortex - physiopathology; Convulsion; Disease Models, Animal; Diseases of the nervous system; Electric Stimulation; Electrodes, Implanted; Electroencephalography - methods; Electroencephalography - statistics & numerical data; Epilepsy, Absence - diagnosis; Epilepsy, Absence - genetics; Epilepsy, Absence - physiopathology; Functional Laterality - physiology; GAERS; Generalized epilepsy; Headache. Facial pains. Syncopes. Epilepsia. Intracranial hypertension. Brain oedema. Cerebral palsy; Kindling, Neurologic - physiology; Limbic System - physiopathology; Medical sciences; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurology; Neuropharmacology; Partial epilepsy; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Radiotherapy. Instrumental treatment. Physiotherapy. Reeducation. Rehabilitation, orthophony, crenotherapy. Diet therapy and various other treatments (general aspects); Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Rats, Wistar; Severity of Illness Index; Spike‐and‐wave discharge; Stereotaxic Techniques; Animal model; Nervous system diseases; Amygdala; Rat; Kindling; Absence epilepsy rats-Spike- and-wave discharge-Generalized epilepsy-Partial epilepsy- Convulsion-GAERS; Epilepsy; Rodentia; Cerebral disorder; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Convulsion; Animal; Central nervous system disease; Spike wave; Neurological disorder
• ISSN: 0013-9580; 1528-1167
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2006.00367.x

Purpose: The kindling model in rats with genetic absence epilepsy is suitable for studying mechanisms involved in the propagation and generalization of seizure activity in the convulsive and nonconvulsive components of epilepsy. In the present study, we compared the amygdala kindling rate and afterdischarge characteristics of the nonepileptic Wistar control rat with a well‐validated model of absence epilepsy, the WAG/Rij rat, and demonstrated the effect of amygdala kindling on spike‐and‐wave discharges (SWDs) in the WAG/Rij group. Methods: Electrodes were stereotaxically implanted into the basolateral amygdala of rats for stimulation and recording and into the cortex for recording. After a recovery period, the animals were stimulated at their afterdischarge thresholds. EEG was recorded to analyze SWDs and afterdischarge durations. The seizure severity was evaluated by using Racine's 5‐stage scale. Results: All nonepileptic control and four of seven WAG/Rij animals reached a stage 5 seizure state, whereas three animals failed to reach stage 3, 4, or 5 and stayed at stage 2 after application of 30 stimulations. Interestingly, WAG/Rij rats, resistant to kindling, demonstrated a significantly longer duration of SWDs on the first day of the experiment before kindling stimulation than did the kindled WAG/Rij animals. Additionally, the cumulative total duration and the number of SWDs after the kindling stimulation were statistically increased compared with SWDs before kindling stimulation. Conclusions: The results of our study demonstrate that the progress of amygdala kindling is changed in rats with genetic absence epilepsy, perhaps as a consequence of the hundreds of daily SWDs.