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Acta Physiologica 2005; Volume 185, Supplement 649
Belgian Society for Fundamental and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology, Autumn Meeting 2005
11/19/2005-11/19/2005
Antwerp, Belgium
STIMULATION OF THE ANTERODORSAL THALAMUS IN GENETIC ABSENCE EPILEPSY RATS FROM STRASBOURG (GAERS).
Abstract number: POSTER-2
Waterschoot,1 L., Dedeurwaerdere1 S., Wyckhuys1 T., Claeys1 P., Raedt1 R., De Smedt1 T., Van Den Broecke1 C., Vonck1 K., Wadman1 W., Boon1 P.
1Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Neurophysiology, University Hospital Ghent, De Pintelaan 185, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. T: +32-9-2403355
Rationale:
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is widely used as a treatment option for refractory patients in various neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, the mechanism of action of DBS is not well understood. Genetic Absence Epilepsy Rats from Strasbourg (GAERS) constitute a well established genetic animal model for absence epilepsy. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of acute (3 s) and subacute (15 min) electrical stimulation of the anterodorsal thalamus in GAERS.
Methods:
12 GAERS (age: 4-5 months) were bilaterally implanted with bipolar electrodes in the anterodorsal thalamus. During the acute experiment, the rats (n = 8) received unilateral high (130 Hz) and middle frequency (60 Hz) stimulations when spike-and-wave discharges (SWDs) appeared on the electroencephalogram (EEG). The number, duration and cumulative duration of the SWDs were compared before, during and after the stimulation period, with each rat serving as its own control. In the subacute experiment, the animals were continuously stimulated for 15 min. The number, duration and cumulative duration of the SWDs were compared between stimulated (n = 6) and control rats (n = 5). In all experiments, electrode positions were verified post-mortem by histological analysis.
Results:
Acute high frequency stimulation reduced the duration of SWDs (p < 0.01). Acute middle frequency stimulation resulted in a similar effect, that failed to reach statistical significance (p = 0.07). Subacute high and middle frequency stimulation did not influence the number or the duration of SWDs. CONCLUSION: In GAERS, acute high but not middle frequency stimulation of the anterodorsal thalamus resulted in an anti-epileptic effect that became noticeable as a significant reduction in SWD duration. Subacute high and middle frequency stimulation did not result in a similar effect. These data confirm the involvement of the anterodorsal thalamus in the control of generalized seizures and suggest that this region could be a target for focal stimulation to treat intractable seizures in humans.
To cite this abstract, please use the following information:
Acta Physiologica 2005; Volume 185, Supplement 649 :POSTER-2