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De Stefano P, Ménétré E, Vulliémoz S, Van Mierlo P, Seeck M. Changes of interictal epileptiform discharges during medication withdrawal and seizures: A scalp EEG marker of epileptogenicity. Clin Neurophysiol Pract 2022; 7:279-284. [PMID: 36312513 PMCID: PMC9615133 DOI: 10.1016/j.cnp.2022.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine the influence of antiseizure medication (ASM) withdrawal on interictal epileptogenic discharges (IEDs) in scalp-EEG and seizure propensity. METHODS We included 35 adult unifocal epilepsy patients admitted for presurgical evaluation in the EEG and Epilepsy Unit of Geneva between 2016 and 2020, monitored for at least 5 days. ASM was individually tapered down, and automated IED detection was performed using Epilog PreOp (Epilog NV, Belgium, Ghent). We compared spike rate per hour (SR) at day 1 when patients were on full medication (baseline) with SR at the day with the lowest dose of medication. To determine possible peri-ictal changes of SR, we compared SR 8 h before and after a seizure with the SR at the same time of the baseline day. RESULTS Our results showed a significant increase in spiking activity in the day of lowest drug load if compared to spike rate at day on full medication (p < 0.001). The total amount of spikes during 24 h correlated significantly with seizure occurrence (p < 0.0001). We also revealed significant increase in peri-ictal SR, in particular 2-4 h preceding a seizure (p = 0.05) extending up to 3 h after the seizure (p = 0.03) with a short decrease just before seizure occurrence. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that SR increases with medication withdrawal and particularly before and after seizures. There is a complex pattern of increase and decrease around seizure onset which explains divergent results in previous studies. SIGNIFICANCE Precise spike counting at similar circadian periods for a patient could help to determine the risk of seizure occurrence in a personalized fashion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pia De Stefano
- EEG and Epilepsy Unit, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland,Neuro-Intensive Care Unit, Department of Intensive Care, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland,Corresponding author at: EEG and Epilepsy Unit, Dept of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospitals of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, 4 rue Gabrielle-Gentil-Perret, 1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland.
| | - Eric Ménétré
- EEG and Epilepsy Unit, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Serge Vulliémoz
- EEG and Epilepsy Unit, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Pieter Van Mierlo
- Medical Image and Signal Processing Group, Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Margitta Seeck
- EEG and Epilepsy Unit, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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Homman-Ludiye J, Mundinano IC, Kwan WC, Bourne JA. Extensive Connectivity Between the Medial Pulvinar and the Cortex Revealed in the Marmoset Monkey. Cereb Cortex 2021; 30:1797-1812. [PMID: 31711181 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2019] [Revised: 08/09/2019] [Accepted: 08/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The medial pulvinar (PM) is a multimodal associative thalamic nucleus, recently evolved in primates. PM participates in integrative and modulatory functions, including directed attention, and consistently exhibits alterations in disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. Despite essential cognitive functions, the cortical inputs to the PM have not been systematically investigated. To date, less than 20 cortices have been demonstrated to project to PM. The goal of this study was to establish a comprehensive map of the cortical afferents to PM in the marmoset monkey. Using a magnetic resonance imaging-guided injection approach, we reveal 62 discrete cortices projecting to the adult marmoset PM. We confirmed previously reported connections and identified further projections from discrete cortices across the temporal, parietal, retrosplenial-cingulate, prefrontal, and orbital lobes. These regions encompass areas recipient of PM efferents, demonstrating the reciprocity of the PM-cortical connectivity. Moreover, our results indicate that PM neurones projecting to distinct cortices are intermingled and form multimodal cell clusters. This microunit organization, believed to facilitate cross-modal integration, contrasts with the large functional subdivisions usually observed in thalamic nuclei. Altogether, we provide the first comprehensive map of PM cortical afferents, an essential stepping stone in expanding our knowledge of PM and its function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jihane Homman-Ludiye
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Inaki Carril Mundinano
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - William C Kwan
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - James A Bourne
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
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3
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Jacob T, Lillis KP, Wang Z, Swiercz W, Rahmati N, Staley KJ. A Proposed Mechanism for Spontaneous Transitions between Interictal and Ictal Activity. J Neurosci 2019; 39:557-575. [PMID: 30446533 PMCID: PMC6335741 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0719-17.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2017] [Revised: 10/23/2018] [Accepted: 10/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Epileptic networks are characterized by two outputs: brief interictal spikes and rarer, more prolonged seizures. Although either output state is readily modeled in silico and induced experimentally, the transition mechanisms are unknown, in part because no models exhibit both output states spontaneously. In silico small-world neural networks were built using single-compartment neurons whose physiological parameters were derived from dual whole-cell recordings of pyramidal cells in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures that were generating spontaneous seizure-like activity. In silico, neurons were connected by abundant local synapses and rare long-distance synapses. Activity-dependent synaptic depression and gradual recovery delimited synchronous activity. Full synaptic recovery engendered interictal population spikes that spread via long-distance synapses. When synaptic recovery was incomplete, postsynaptic neurons required coincident activation of multiple presynaptic terminals to reach firing threshold. Only local connections were sufficiently dense to spread activity under these conditions. This coalesced network activity into traveling waves whose velocity varied with synaptic recovery. Seizures were comprised of sustained traveling waves that were similar to those recorded during experimental and human neocortical seizures. Sustained traveling waves occurred only when wave velocity, network dimensions, and the rate of synaptic recovery enabled wave reentry into previously depressed areas at precisely ictogenic levels of synaptic recovery. Wide-field, cellular-resolution GCamP7b calcium imaging demonstrated similar initial patterns of activation in the hippocampus, although the anatomical distribution of traveling waves of synaptic activation was altered by the pattern of synaptic connectivity in the organotypic hippocampal cultures.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT When computerized distributed neural network models are required to generate both features of epileptic networks (i.e., spontaneous interictal population spikes and seizures), the network structure is substantially constrained. These constraints provide important new hypotheses regarding the nature of epileptic networks and mechanisms of seizure onset.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theju Jacob
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Kyle P Lillis
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Zemin Wang
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, and
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Waldemar Swiercz
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Negah Rahmati
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Kevin J Staley
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114,
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
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4
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Prominent differences in sharp waves, ripples and complex spike bursts between the dorsal and the ventral rat hippocampus. Neuroscience 2017; 352:131-143. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.03.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2016] [Revised: 03/27/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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Activity Clamp Provides Insights into Paradoxical Effects of the Anti-Seizure Drug Carbamazepine. J Neurosci 2017; 37:5484-5495. [PMID: 28473648 PMCID: PMC5452340 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3697-16.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2016] [Revised: 04/04/2017] [Accepted: 04/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A major challenge in experimental epilepsy research is to reconcile the effects of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) on individual neurons with their network-level actions. Highlighting this difficulty, it is unclear why carbamazepine (CBZ), a frontline AED with a known molecular mechanism, has been reported to increase epileptiform activity in several clinical and experimental studies. We confirmed in an in vitro mouse model (in both sexes) that the frequency of interictal bursts increased after CBZ perfusion. To address the underlying mechanisms, we developed a method, activity clamp, to distinguish the response of individual neurons from network-level actions of CBZ. We first recorded barrages of synaptic conductances from neurons during epileptiform activity and then replayed them in pharmacologically isolated neurons under control conditions and in the presence of CBZ. CBZ consistently decreased the reliability of the second action potential in each burst of activity. Conventional current-clamp recordings using excitatory ramp or square-step current injections failed to reveal this effect. Network modeling showed that a CBZ-induced decrease of neuron recruitment during epileptic bursts can lead to an increase in burst frequency at the network level by reducing the refractoriness of excitatory transmission. By combining activity clamp with computer simulations, the present study provides a potential explanation for the paradoxical effects of CBZ on epileptiform activity. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The effects of anti-epileptic drugs on individual neurons are difficult to separate from their network-level actions. Although carbamazepine (CBZ) has a known anti-epileptic mechanism, paradoxically, it has also been reported to increase epileptiform activity in clinical and experimental studies. To investigate this paradox during realistic neuronal epileptiform activity, we developed a method, activity clamp, to distinguish the effects of CBZ on individual neurons from network-level actions. We demonstrate that CBZ consistently decreases the reliability of the second action potential in each burst of epileptiform activity. Network modeling shows that this effect on individual neuronal responses could explain the paradoxical effect of CBZ at the network level.
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Liu J, Saponjian Y, Mahoney MM, Staley KJ, Berdichevsky Y. Epileptogenesis in organotypic hippocampal cultures has limited dependence on culture medium composition. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0172677. [PMID: 28225808 PMCID: PMC5321418 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2016] [Accepted: 02/08/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Rodent organotypic hippocampal cultures spontaneously develop epileptiform activity after approximately 2 weeks in vitro and are increasingly used as a model of chronic post-traumatic epilepsy. However, organotypic cultures are maintained in an artificial environment (culture medium), which contains electrolytes, glucose, amino acids and other components that are not present at the same concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Therefore, it is possible that epileptogenesis in organotypic cultures is driven by these components. We examined the influence of medium composition on epileptogenesis. Epileptogenesis was evaluated by measurements of lactate and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels (biomarkers of ictal activity and cell death, respectively) in spent culture media, immunohistochemistry and automated 3-D cell counts, and extracellular recordings from CA3 regions. Changes in culture medium components moderately influenced lactate and LDH levels as well as electrographic seizure burden and cell death. However, epileptogenesis occurred in any culture medium that was capable of supporting neural survival. We conclude that medium composition is unlikely to be the cause of epileptogenesis in the organotypic hippocampal culture model of chronic post-traumatic epilepsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Liu
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Yero Saponjian
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Mark M. Mahoney
- Bioengineering Program, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Kevin J. Staley
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Yevgeny Berdichevsky
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Bioengineering Program, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States of America
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7
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Le Duigou C, Simonnet J, Teleñczuk MT, Fricker D, Miles R. Recurrent synapses and circuits in the CA3 region of the hippocampus: an associative network. Front Cell Neurosci 2014; 7:262. [PMID: 24409118 PMCID: PMC3884140 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2013.00262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2013] [Accepted: 12/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
In the CA3 region of the hippocampus, pyramidal cells excite other pyramidal cells and interneurons. The axons of CA3 pyramidal cells spread throughout most of the region to form an associative network. These connections were first drawn by Cajal and Lorente de No. Their physiological properties were explored to understand epileptiform discharges generated in the region. Synapses between pairs of pyramidal cells involve one or few release sites and are weaker than connections made by mossy fibers on CA3 pyramidal cells. Synapses with interneurons are rather effective, as needed to control unchecked excitation. We examine contributions of recurrent synapses to epileptiform synchrony, to the genesis of sharp waves in the CA3 region and to population oscillations at theta and gamma frequencies. Recurrent connections in CA3, as other associative cortices, have a lower connectivity spread over a larger area than in primary sensory cortices. This sparse, but wide-ranging connectivity serves the functions of an associative network, including acquisition of neuronal representations as activity in groups of CA3 cells and completion involving the recall from partial cues of these ensemble firing patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Le Duigou
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle, INSERM U975, CHU Pitié-Salpêtrière, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris, France
| | - Jean Simonnet
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle, INSERM U975, CHU Pitié-Salpêtrière, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris, France
| | - Maria T Teleñczuk
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle, INSERM U975, CHU Pitié-Salpêtrière, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris, France
| | - Desdemona Fricker
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle, INSERM U975, CHU Pitié-Salpêtrière, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris, France
| | - Richard Miles
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle, INSERM U975, CHU Pitié-Salpêtrière, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris, France
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8
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Karlócai MR, Kohus Z, Káli S, Ulbert I, Szabó G, Máté Z, Freund TF, Gulyás AI. Physiological sharp wave-ripples and interictal events in vitro: what's the difference? ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014; 137:463-85. [PMID: 24390441 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awt348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Sharp wave-ripples and interictal events are physiological and pathological forms of transient high activity in the hippocampus with similar features. Sharp wave-ripples have been shown to be essential in memory consolidation, whereas epileptiform (interictal) events are thought to be damaging. It is essential to grasp the difference between physiological sharp wave-ripples and pathological interictal events to understand the failure of control mechanisms in the latter case. We investigated the dynamics of activity generated intrinsically in the Cornu Ammonis region 3 of the mouse hippocampus in vitro, using four different types of intervention to induce epileptiform activity. As a result, sharp wave-ripples spontaneously occurring in Cornu Ammonis region 3 disappeared, and following an asynchronous transitory phase, activity reorganized into a new form of pathological synchrony. During epileptiform events, all neurons increased their firing rate compared to sharp wave-ripples. Different cell types showed complementary firing: parvalbumin-positive basket cells and some axo-axonic cells stopped firing as a result of a depolarization block at the climax of the events in high potassium, 4-aminopyridine and zero magnesium models, but not in the gabazine model. In contrast, pyramidal cells began firing maximally at this stage. To understand the underlying mechanism we measured changes of intrinsic neuronal and transmission parameters in the high potassium model. We found that the cellular excitability increased and excitatory transmission was enhanced, whereas inhibitory transmission was compromised. We observed a strong short-term depression in parvalbumin-positive basket cell to pyramidal cell transmission. Thus, the collapse of pyramidal cell perisomatic inhibition appears to be a crucial factor in the emergence of epileptiform events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mária R Karlócai
- 1 Laboratory of Cerebral Cortex, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
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Diao L, Hellier JL, Uskert-Newsom J, Williams PA, Staley KJ, Yee AS. Diphenytoin, riluzole and lidocaine: three sodium channel blockers, with different mechanisms of action, decrease hippocampal epileptiform activity. Neuropharmacology 2013; 73:48-55. [PMID: 23707481 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2013.04.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2012] [Revised: 04/29/2013] [Accepted: 04/30/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Epilepsy is a condition affecting 1-2% of the population, characterized by the presence of spontaneous, recurrent seizures. The most common type of acquired epilepsy is temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Up to 30% of patients with TLE are refractory to currently available compounds, and there is an urgent need to identify novel targets for therapy. Here, we utilized the in-vitro CA3 burst preparation to examine alterations in network excitability, characterized by changes in interburst interval. Specifically, we show that bath application of three different sodium channel blockers-diphenytoin, riluzole, and lidocaine-slow spontaneous CA3 bursts. This in turn, decreased the epileptiform activity. These compounds work at different sites on voltage-gated sodium channels, but produce a similar network phenotype of decreased excitability. In the case of diphenytoin and riluzole, the change in network activity (i.e., increased interburst intervals) was persistent following drug washout. Lidocaine application, however, only increased the CA3 interburst interval when it was in the bath solution. Thus, its action was not permanent and resulted in returning CA3 bursting to baseline levels. These data demonstrate that the CA3 burst preparation provides a relatively easy and quick platform for identifying compounds that can decrease network excitability, providing the initial screen for further and more complex in-vivo, freely-behaving animal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lihong Diao
- University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Mailstop 8105, PO Box 6511, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
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10
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Abstract
Synchronous activation of neural networks is an important physiological mechanism, and dysregulation of synchrony forms the basis of epilepsy. We analyzed the propagation of synchronous activity through chronically epileptic neural networks. Electrocorticographic recordings from epileptic patients demonstrate remarkable variance in the pathways of propagation between sequential interictal spikes (IISs). Calcium imaging in chronically epileptic slice cultures demonstrates that pathway variance depends on the presence of GABAergic inhibition and that spike propagation becomes stereotyped following GABA receptor blockade. Computer modeling suggests that GABAergic quenching of local network activations leaves behind regions of refractory neurons, whose late recruitment forms the anatomical basis of variability during subsequent network activation. Targeted path scanning of slice cultures confirmed local activations, while ex vivo recordings of human epileptic tissue confirmed the dependence of interspike variance on GABA-mediated inhibition. These data support the hypothesis that the paths by which synchronous activity spreads through an epileptic network change with each activation, based on the recent history of localized activity that has been successfully inhibited.
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Zhang ZJ, Valiante TA, Carlen PL. Transition to seizure: from "macro"- to "micro"-mysteries. Epilepsy Res 2011; 97:290-9. [PMID: 22075227 DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2011.09.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2011] [Revised: 09/25/2011] [Accepted: 09/27/2011] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
One of the most terrifying aspects of epilepsy is the sudden and apparently unpredictable transition of the brain into the pathological state of an epileptic seizure. The pathophysiology of the transition to seizure still remains mysterious. Herein we review some of the key concepts and relevant literatures dealing with this enigmatic transitioning of brain states. At the "MACRO" level, electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings at time display preictal phenomena followed by pathological high-frequency oscillations at the seizure onset. Numerous seizure prediction algorithms predicated on identifying changes prior to seizure onset have met with little success, underscoring our lack of understanding of the dynamics of transition to seizure, amongst other inherent limitation. We then discuss the concept of synchronized hyperexcited oscillatory networks underlying seizure generation. We consider these networks as weakly coupled oscillators, a concept which forms the basis of some relevant mathematical modeling of seizure transitions. Next, the underlying "MICRO" processes involved in seizure generation are discussed. The depolarization of the GABA(A) chloride reversal potential is a major concept, facilitating epileptogenesis, particularly in immature brain. Also the balance of inhibitory and excitatory local neuronal networks plays an important role in the process of transitioning to seizure. Gap junctional communication, including that which occurs between glia, as well as ephaptic interactions are increasingly recognized as critical for seizure generation. In brief, this review examines the evidence regarding the characterization of the transition to seizure at both the "MACRO" and "MICRO" levels, trying to characterize this mysterious yet critical problem of the brain state transitioning into a seizure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z J Zhang
- Division of Fundamental Neurobiology, Toronto Western Research Institute, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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12
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Staley KJ, White A, Dudek FE. Interictal spikes: harbingers or causes of epilepsy? Neurosci Lett 2011; 497:247-50. [PMID: 21458535 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2011.03.070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2011] [Accepted: 03/23/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Interictal spikes are brief paroxysmal electrographic discharges observed between spontaneous recurrent seizures in epileptic patients. The relationship between interictal spikes and the seizures that define acquired epilepsy has been debated for decades. Recent studies using long-term continuous electrographic recordings from the hippocampus and cortex in rats with kainate-induced epilepsy suggest that electrographic spikes, with waveforms similar to interictal spikes, precede the occurrence of the first spontaneous epileptic seizure. These data raise the possibility that spikes might serve as a surrogate marker of ongoing chronic epileptogenesis. Additionally, electrographic spikes might actually contribute to the development and maintenance of the epileptic state (i.e., the increased probability of spontaneous recurrent seizures). Correlational evidence for such a causal relationship has recently also been obtained in an in vitro model of epileptogenesis using organotypic hippocampal slices. Testing for a causal relationship will ultimately require selective anti-spike medications. Although no such agents currently exist, this new preparation is amenable to moderate-throughput screening, which should accelerate their discovery. Anti-spike agents may also be of benefit in ameliorating the cognitive dysfunctions associated with epilepsy, to which spike activity may contribute.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin J Staley
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St., WAC 708-D, Boston, MA 02114, United States.
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13
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van Putten MJAM, van Putten MHPM. Uncommon EEG burst-suppression in severe postanoxic encephalopathy. Clin Neurophysiol 2010; 121:1213-9. [PMID: 20363179 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2010.02.162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2009] [Revised: 02/13/2010] [Accepted: 02/23/2010] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In patients suffering from severe hypoxia, the EEG may show a burst-suppression pattern, characterized by low-voltage activity and the occurrence of high amplitude burst-like events. We describe the two-timescale burst phenomenology of this postanoxic condition. METHODS We present EEG recordings showing remarkable burst phenomenology in two postanoxic patients and consider potential mechanisms responsible for the generation of the burst-suppression patterns. We quantify the postanoxic condition in terms of the dimension (number of degrees of freedom) of its dynamics by comparing our data with a system of three ordinary differential equations with two timescales subject to varying degrees of noise. RESULTS EEGs displayed extreme similarity of the bursts, separated by interburst intervals up to more than 300s. This pattern reflects a significant reduction in the number of functional brain states. This post-anoxic condition is found to have dimension 3, consisting of fast dynamics responsible for the bifurcation to bursting behavior, and a long time-scale responsible for burst termination and the interburst intervals. CONCLUSIONS Low-dimensional postanoxic brain states, as manifested by burst-similarity, appears to indicate an irreversible loss of brain function and consciousness. SIGNIFICANCE Evidence of brain functionality in a persistent low dimensional state due to severe hypoxia is indicative of permanent loss of consciousness with essentially no chance for recovery. Quantitative evidence for such degenerate states is important for clinical decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michel J A M van Putten
- Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, Medisch Spectrum Twente and MIRA-Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
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Young NA, Vuong J, Ozen LJ, Flynn C, Teskey GC. Motor map expansion in the pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy is dependent on seizure severity and rat strain. Exp Neurol 2009; 217:421-8. [PMID: 19361501 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2009.03.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2009] [Revised: 03/30/2009] [Accepted: 03/31/2009] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Functional alterations in movement representations (motor maps) have been observed in some people with epilepsy and, under experimental control, electrically-kindled seizures in rats also result in persistently larger motor maps. To determine if a single event of status epilepticus and its latent consequences can affect motor map expression, we assessed forelimb motor maps in rats using the pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy. We examined both pilocarpine-induced seizures, and status epilepticus (SE) in two strains that differ in their propensity for epileptogenesis; Wistar and Long-Evans. Pilocarpine was administered intraperitoneally at dosages that resulted in equivalent proportions of seizures, SE, and survival in both strains. Rats from both strains were given saline injections as a control. Diazepam was administered to all rats to attenuate seizure activity and promote survival. All rats had high-resolution movement representations derived using standard intracortical microstimulation methodologies at 48 h, 1 week, or 3 weeks following treatment. Pilocarpine-induced seizures only gave rise to motor map enlargement in Wistar rats, which also showed interictal spiking, and only at 3 weeks post-treatment indicating altered motor map expression in this strain following a latent or maturational period. Pilocarpine-induced SE yielded larger motor maps at all time points in Wistar rats but only a transient (48 h) map expansion in Long-Evans rats. Our results demonstrate that seizures and SE induced by a convulsant agent alter the functional expression of motor maps that is dependent on seizure severity and a genetic (strain) predisposition to develop epileptiform events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole A Young
- Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2N 1N4
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15
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Hellier JL, White A, Williams PA, Dudek FE, Staley KJ. NMDA receptor-mediated long-term alterations in epileptiform activity in experimental chronic epilepsy. Neuropharmacology 2008; 56:414-21. [PMID: 18930747 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2008.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2008] [Revised: 09/11/2008] [Accepted: 09/12/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
When epileptiform activity is acutely induced in vitro, transient partial blockade of N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor-mediated calcium influx leads to selective long-term depotentiation of the synapses involved in the epileptic activity as well as a reduction in the probability of further epileptiform activity. If such selective depotentiation occurred within foci of epileptic activity in vivo, the corresponding long-term reduction in seizure probability could form the basis for a novel treatment of epilepsy. Continuous radiotelemetric EEG monitoring demonstrated modest acute anticonvulsant effects but no long-term reductions in the probability of spontaneous seizures after transient partial blockade of NMDA receptors (NMDAR) during ictal and interictal activity in the kainate animal model of chronic epilepsy. In vitro, depotentiation was induced when NMDAR were partially blocked during epileptiform activity in hippocampal slices from control animals, but not in slices from chronically epileptic rats. However in slices from epileptic animals, depotentiation during epileptiform activity was induced by partial block of NMDAR using NR2B- but not NR2A-selective antagonists. These results suggest that chronic epileptic activity is associated with changes in NMDA receptor-mediated signaling that is reflected in the pharmacology of activity- and NMDA receptor-dependent depotentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Hellier
- Neuroscience Program, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, United States
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16
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Reid CA, Adams BEL, Myers D, O'Brien TJ, Williams DA. Sub region-specific modulation of synchronous neuronal burst firing after a kainic acid insult in organotypic hippocampal cultures. BMC Neurosci 2008; 9:59. [PMID: 18593482 PMCID: PMC2474631 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2202-9-59] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2007] [Accepted: 07/02/2008] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Excitotoxicity occurs in a number of pathogenic states including stroke and epilepsy. The adaptations of neuronal circuits in response to such insults may be expected to play an underlying role in pathogenesis. Synchronous neuronal firing can be induced in isolated hippocampal slices and involves all regions of this structure, thereby providing a measure of circuit activity. The effect of an excitotoxic insult (kainic acid, KA) on Mg2+-free-induced synchronized neuronal firing was tested in organotypic hippocampal culture by measuring extracellular field activity in CA1 and CA3. RESULTS Within 24 hrs of the insult regional specific changes in neuronal firing patterns were evident as: (i) a dramatic reduction in the ability of CA3 to generate firing; and (ii) a contrasting increase in the frequency and duration of synchronized neuronal firing events in CA1. Two distinct processes underlie the increased propensity of CA1 to generate synchronized burst firing; a lack of ability of the CA3 region to 'pace' CA1 resulting in an increased frequency of synchronized events; and a change in the 'intrinsic' properties limited to the CA1 region, which is responsible for increased event duration. Neuronal quantification using NeuN immunoflurescent staining and stereological confocal microscopy revealed no significant cell loss in hippocampal sub regions, suggesting that changes in the properties of neurons within this region were responsible for the KA-mediated excitability changes. CONCLUSION These results provide novel insight into adaptation of hippocampal circuits following excitotoxic injury. KA-mediated disruption of the interplay between CA3 and CA1 clearly increases the propensity to synchronized firing in CA1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A Reid
- Department of Physiology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
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Hemond P, Epstein D, Boley A, Migliore M, Ascoli GA, Jaffe DB. Distinct classes of pyramidal cells exhibit mutually exclusive firing patterns in hippocampal area CA3b. Hippocampus 2008; 18:411-24. [PMID: 18189311 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.20404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
It is thought that CA3 pyramidal neurons communicate mainly through bursts of spikes rather than so-called trains of regular firing action potentials. Reports of both burst firing and nonburst firing CA3 cells suggest that they may fire with more than one output pattern. With the use of whole-cell recording methods we studied the firing properties of rat hippocampal pyramidal neurons in vitro within the CA3b subregion and found three distinct types of firing patterns. Approximately 37% of cells were regular firing where spikes generated by minimal current injection (rheobase) were elicited with a short latency and with stronger current intensities trains of spikes exhibited spike frequency adaptation (SFA). Another 46% of neurons exhibited a delayed onset at rheobase with a weakly-adapting firing pattern upon stronger stimulation. The remaining 17% of cells showed a burst-firing pattern, though only elicited in response to strong current injection and spontaneous bursts were never observed. Control experiments indicated that the distinct firing patterns were not due to our particular slicing methods or recording techniques. Finally, computer modeling was used to identify how relative differences in K+ conductances, specifically K(C), K(M), and K(D), between cells contribute to the different characteristics of the three types of firing patterns observed experimentally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Hemond
- Department of Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249, USA
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18
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Neuregulin blocks synaptic strengthening after epileptiform activity in the rat hippocampus. Brain Res 2008; 1208:67-73. [PMID: 18387600 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2008.02.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2007] [Revised: 02/09/2008] [Accepted: 02/15/2008] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Synaptic strengthening produced by epileptiform activity may contribute to seizure progression and cognitive impairment in epilepsy. Agents that limit this form of plasticity may have therapeutic benefit. Neuregulin is an endogenous growth factor that is released at synapses in an activity dependent manner and can suppress long term potentiation (LTP). Alterations in neuregulin signaling have been associated with schizophrenia. A role for neuregulin in epilepsy has not been explored. We used field potential recordings to examine the role of neuregulin in regulating synaptic strengthening following epileptiform activity in hippocampal slices. Neuregulin had no effect on basal synaptic transmission, isolated NMDA field potentials or GABAergic inhibition on CA1 pyramidal neurons. However, it reversed LTP at CA1 synapses. Brief exposure to 10 mM potassium chloride produced epileptiform bursting and potentiation of CA1 synapses and suppressed the subsequent induction of LTP. Neuregulin reversed high K(+)-induced synaptic strengthening, enabling LTP induction after neuregulin washout. In this manner neuregulin preserved the dynamic range of synaptic responses and plasticity after epileptiform activity. These results indicate that LTP and high K(+)-induced synaptic strengthening share a common neuregulin-sensitive mechanism. By opposing synaptic strengthening caused by epileptiform activity, we suggest that neuregulin may reduce the generation and spread of seizures as well as memory deficits associated with epilepsy.
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19
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Rakhade SN, Shah AK, Agarwal R, Yao B, Asano E, Loeb JA. Activity-dependent gene expression correlates with interictal spiking in human neocortical epilepsy. Epilepsia 2007; 48 Suppl 5:86-95. [PMID: 17910586 DOI: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2007.01294.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Interictal spikes are hallmarks of epileptic neocortex that are used commonly in both EEG and electrocorticography (ECoG) to localize epileptic brain regions. Despite their prevalence, the exact relationship between interictal spiking and the molecular pathways that drive the production and propagation of seizures is not known. We have recently identified a common group of genes induced in human epileptic foci, including EGR1, EGR2, c-fos, and MKP-3. We found that the expression levels of these genes correlate precisely with the frequency of interictal activity and can thus serve as markers of epileptic activity. Here, we explore this further by comparing the expression of these genes within human epileptic neocortex to both ictal and specific electrical parameters of interictal spiking from subdural recordings prior to surgical resection in order to determine the electrical properties of the human neocortex that correlate best to the expression of these genes. Seizure frequency as well as quantitative electrophysiological parameters of interictal spikes including frequency, amplitude, duration, and area were calculated at each electrode channel and compared to quantitative real-time RT-PCR measurements of four activity-dependent genes (c-fos, EGR1, EGR2, and MKP-3) in the underlying neocortical tissue. Local neocortical regions of seizure onset had consistently higher spike firing frequencies and higher spike amplitudes compared to nearby "control" cortex. In contrast, spike duration was not significantly different between these two areas. There was no relationship observed between seizure frequency and the expression levels of activity-dependent genes for the patients examined in this study. However, within each patient, there were highly significant correlations between the expression of three of these genes (c-fos, EGR1, EGR2) and the frequency, amplitude, and total area of the interictal spikes at individual electrodes. We conclude that interictal spiking is closely associated with the expression of a group of activity-dependent transcription factors in neocortical human epilepsy. Since there was little correlation between gene expression and seizure frequency, our results suggest that interictal spiking is a stronger driving force behind these activity-dependent gene changes and may thus participate in the development and maintenance of the abnormal neuronal hyperactivity seen in human epileptic neocortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanjay N Rakhade
- Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA
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20
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Hellier JL, Grosshans DR, Coultrap SJ, Jones JP, Dobelis P, Browning MD, Staley KJ. NMDA receptor trafficking at recurrent synapses stabilizes the state of the CA3 network. J Neurophysiol 2007; 98:2818-26. [PMID: 17728388 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00346.2007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Metaplasticity describes the stabilization of synaptic strength such that strong synapses are likely to remain strong while weak synapses are likely to remain weak. A potential mechanism for metaplasticity is a correlated change in both N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated postsynaptic conductance and synaptic strength. Synchronous activation of CA3-CA3 synapses during spontaneous bursts of population activity caused long-term potentiation (LTP) of recurrent CA3-CA3 glutamatergic synapses under control conditions and depotentiation when NMDA receptors were partially blocked by competitive antagonists. LTP was associated with a significant increase in membrane-bound NMDA receptors, whereas depotentiation was associated with a significant decrease in membrane-bound NMDA receptors. During burst activity, further depotentiation could be induced by sequential reductions in antagonist concentration, consistent with a depotentiation-associated reduction in membrane-bound NMDA receptors. The decrease in number of membrane-bound NMDA receptors associated with depotentiation reduced the probability of subsequent potentiation of weakened synapses in the face of ongoing synchronous network activity. This molecular mechanism stabilizes synaptic strength, which in turn stabilizes the state of the CA3 neuronal network, reflected in the frequency of spontaneous population bursts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Hellier
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, USA
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21
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Swiercz W, Cios K, Hellier J, Yee A, Staley K. Effects of synaptic depression and recovery on synchronous network activity. J Clin Neurophysiol 2007; 24:165-74. [PMID: 17414972 DOI: 10.1097/wnp.0b013e318033756f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
SUMMARY The output of an artificial neural network of spiking neurons linked by glutamatergic synapses subject to use-dependent depression was compared with physiologic data obtained from rat hippocampal area CA3 in vitro. The authors evaluated how network burst initiation and termination was affected by activity-dependent depression and recovery under a variety of experimental conditions including neuronal membrane depolarization, altered glutamate release probability, the strength of synaptic inhibition, and long-term potentiation and long-term depression of recurrent glutamatergic synapses. The results of computational experiments agreed with the in vitro data and support the idea that synaptic properties, including activity-dependent depression and recovery, play important roles in the timing and duration of spontaneous bursts of network activity. This validated network model is useful for experiments that are not feasible in vitro, and makes possible the investigation of two-dimensional aspects of burst propagation and termination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Waldemar Swiercz
- From the Neurology Department, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
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22
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Jones J, Stubblefield EA, Benke TA, Staley KJ. Desynchronization of Glutamate Release Prolongs Synchronous CA3 Network Activity. J Neurophysiol 2007; 97:3812-8. [PMID: 17344368 DOI: 10.1152/jn.01310.2006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Periodic bursts of activity in the disinhibited in vitro hippocampal CA3 network spread through the neural population by the glutamatergic recurrent collateral axons that link CA3 pyramidal cells. It was previously proposed that these bursts of activity are terminated by exhaustion of releasable glutamate at the recurrent collateral synapses so that the next periodic burst of network activity cannot occur until the supply of glutamate has been replenished. As a test of this hypothesis, the rate of glutamate release at CA3 axon terminals was reduced by substitution of extracellular Ca2+ with Sr2+. Reduction of the rate of glutamate release reduces the rate of depletion and should thereby prolong bursts. Here we demonstrate that Sr2+ substitution prolongs spontaneous bursts in the disinhibited adult CA3 hippocampal slices to 37.2 ± 7.6 (SE) times the duration in control conditions. Sr2+ also decreased the probability of burst initiation and the rate of burst onset, consistent with reduced synchrony of glutamate release and a consequent reduced rate of spread of excitation through the slice. These findings support the supply of releasable glutamate as an important determinant of the probability and duration of synchronous CA3 network activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jethro Jones
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Health Science Center, Denver, USA
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23
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V. Stewart C, Plenz D. Inverted-U profile of dopamine-NMDA-mediated spontaneous avalanche recurrence in superficial layers of rat prefrontal cortex. J Neurosci 2006; 26:8148-59. [PMID: 16885228 PMCID: PMC6673780 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0723-06.2006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Prefrontal cortex (PFC) functions, such as working memory, attention selection, and memory retrieval, depend critically on dopamine and NMDA receptor activation by way of an inverted-U-shaped pharmacological profile. Although single neuron responses in the PFC have shown some aspects of this profile, a network dynamic that follows the dopamine-NMDA dependence has not been identified. We studied neuronal network activity in acute medial PFC slices of adult rats by recording local field potentials (LFPs) with microelectrode arrays. Bath application of dopamine or the dopamine D1 agonist SKF38393 [(+/-)-1-phenyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-(1H)-3-benzazepine-7,8-diol hydrochloride] in combination with NMDA induced spontaneous LFPs predominantly in superficial cortex layers. The LFPs at single electrodes were characterized by sharp negative peaks that were clustered in time across electrodes revealing diverse spatiotemporal patterns on the array. The pattern formation required fast GABAergic transmission, coactivation of the dopamine D1 and NMDA receptor, and depended in an inverted-U profile on dopamine. At moderate concentrations of dopamine or the dopamine D1 agonist, the pattern size distribution formed a power law with exponent alpha = -1.5, indicating that patterns are organized in the form of neuronal avalanches, thereby maximizing spatial correlations in the network. At lower or higher concentrations, alpha was more negative than -1.5, indicating reduced spatial correlations. Likewise, at moderate dopamine concentrations, the avalanche rate and recurrence of specific avalanches was maximal with recurrence frequencies after a "power law"-like heavy-tail distribution with a slope of -2.4. We suggest that the dopamine-NMDA-dependent spontaneous recurrence of specific avalanches in superficial cortical layers might facilitate integrative and associative aspects of PFC functions.
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24
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van Drongelen W, Koch H, Elsen FP, Lee HC, Mrejeru A, Doren E, Marcuccilli CJ, Hereld M, Stevens RL, Ramirez JM. Role of persistent sodium current in bursting activity of mouse neocortical networks in vitro. J Neurophysiol 2006; 96:2564-77. [PMID: 16870839 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00446.2006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Most types of electrographic epileptiform activity can be characterized by isolated or repetitive bursts in brain electrical activity. This observation is our motivation to determine mechanisms that underlie bursting behavior of neuronal networks. Here we show that the persistent sodium (Na(P)) current in mouse neocortical slices is associated with cellular bursting and our data suggest that these cells are capable of driving networks into a bursting state. This conclusion is supported by the following observations. 1) Both low concentrations of tetrodotoxin (TTX) and riluzole reduce and eventually stop network bursting while they simultaneously abolish intrinsic bursting properties and sensitivity levels to electrical stimulation in individual intrinsically bursting cells. 2) The sensitivity levels of regular spiking neurons are not significantly affected by riluzole or TTX at the termination of network bursting. 3) Propagation of cellular bursting in a neuronal network depended on excitatory connectivity and disappeared on bath application of CNQX (20 microM) + CPP (10 microM). 4) Voltage-clamp measurements show that riluzole (20 microM) and very low concentrations of TTX (50 nM) attenuate Na(P) currents in the neural membrane within a 1-min interval after bath application of the drug. 5) Recordings of synaptic activity demonstrate that riluzole at this concentration does not affect synaptic properties. 6) Simulations with a neocortical network model including different types of pyramidal cells, inhibitory interneurons, neurons with and without Na(P) currents, and recurrent excitation confirm the essence of our experimental observations that Na(P) conductance can be a critical factor sustaining slow population bursting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wim van Drongelen
- Department of Pediatrics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637-1470, USA.
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25
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Mikkonen JE, Huttunen J, Penttonen M. Contribution of a single CA3 neuron to network synchrony. Neuroimage 2006; 31:1222-7. [PMID: 16529954 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2005] [Revised: 11/04/2005] [Accepted: 01/20/2006] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Oscillations at theta (3-8 Hz) and gamma (30-80 Hz) frequencies co-occur during arousal, exploration, and rapid eye movement sleep and relate to information processing underlying learning and memory within neuronal networks. In hippocampus, gamma and theta frequency oscillations are associated with modification of synaptic weights, spatial learning, and short-term memory. These oscillations are referred to as network phenomena and, thereby, the role of single neuron oscillations in the generation of neuronal networks remains unclear. We report that an individual CA3 pyramidal cell can activate the CA1 neuronal network in vivo in rat hippocampus using electrical stimulations with simultaneous intracellular gamma and extracellular theta and slow (0.5-1 Hz) frequencies. These results suggest that an individual pyramidal cell can contribute to self-organization of a neuronal small-scale network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jarno E Mikkonen
- A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Kuopio, P. O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland
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26
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Debanne D, Thompson SM, Gähwiler BH. A brief period of epileptiform activity strengthens excitatory synapses in the rat hippocampus in vitro. Epilepsia 2006; 47:247-56. [PMID: 16499748 DOI: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2006.00416.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE We examined here whether a very short period of epileptiform activity could produce lasting modifications of synaptic strength and network properties in the rat hippocampus in vitro. METHODS Synaptic transmission at CA3-CA1 and at CA3-CA3 pyramidal cell synapses was monitored in hippocampal slice cultures before and after a very brief episode of epileptiform activity (20-180 s) induced with bicuculline methochloride. RESULTS We show here that a brief period of epileptiform activity induces long-lasting potentiation of glutamatergic transmission at CA3-CA1 and at CA3-CA3 pyramidal cell synapses. This potentiation also was observed at synapses formed by pairs of monosynaptically connected neurons. It was dependent on N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, occluded classic long-term potentiation, and could be depotentiated by low-frequency stimulation at 3 Hz. Recruitment of polysynaptic pathways within area CA3 was facilitated after epileptiform activity indicating that the induced potentiation enhanced overall hippocampal network excitability. CONCLUSIONS These changes in synaptic transmission may contribute to the genesis of epilepsy and to seizure-associated memory deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominique Debanne
- Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
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27
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Lieske SP, Ramirez JM. Pattern-Specific Synaptic Mechanisms in a Multifunctional Network. I. Effects of Alterations in Synapse Strength. J Neurophysiol 2006; 95:1323-33. [PMID: 16492944 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00505.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Many neuronal networks are multifunctional, producing different patterns of activity in different circumstances, but the mechanisms responsible for this reconfiguration are in many cases unresolved. The mammalian respiratory network is an example of such a system. Normal respiratory activity (eupnea) is periodically interrupted by distinct large-amplitude inspirations known as sighs. Both rhythms originate from a single multifunctional neural network, and both are preserved in the in vitro transverse medullary slice of mice. Here we show that the generation of fictive sighs were more sensitive than eupnea to reductions of excitatory synapse strength caused by either the P/Q-type (α1A-containing) calcium channel antagonist ω-agatoxin TK or the non- N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxalene-2,3-dione (CNQX). In contrast, the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801, while also inhibiting eupnea, increased the occurrence of sighs. This suggests that among the glutamatergic synapses subserving eupneic rhythmogenesis, there is a specific subset—highly sensitive to agatoxin and insensitive to NMDA receptor blockade—that is essential for sighs. Blockade of N-type calcium channels with ω-conotoxin GVIA also had pattern-specific effects: eupneic activity was not affected, but sigh frequency was increased and postsigh apnea decreased. We hypothesize that N-type (α1B) calcium channels selectively coupled to calcium-activated potassium channels contribute to the generation of the postsigh apnea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven P Lieske
- Committee on Neurobiology, The University of Chicago, 1027 E. 57th S., Chicago, IL 60637-1508, USA
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28
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de la Prida LM, Huberfeld G, Cohen I, Miles R. Threshold Behavior in the Initiation of Hippocampal Population Bursts. Neuron 2006; 49:131-42. [PMID: 16387645 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2005.10.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 141] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2005] [Revised: 08/29/2005] [Accepted: 10/20/2005] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Hippocampal population discharges such as sharp waves, epileptiform firing, and GDPs recur at long and variable intervals. The mechanisms for their precise timing are not well understood. Here, we show that population bursts in the disinhibited CA3 region are initiated at a threshold level of population firing after recovery from a previous event. Each population discharge follows an active buildup period when synaptic traffic and cell firing increase to threshold levels. Single-cell firing can advance burst onset by increasing population firing to suprathreshold values. Population synchrony is suppressed when threshold frequencies cannot be reached due to reduced cellular excitability or synaptic efficacy. Reducing synaptic strength reveals partially synchronous population bursts that are curtailed by GABA(B)-mediated conductances. Excitatory glutamatergic transmission and delayed GABA(B)-mediated signals have opposing feedback effects on CA3 cell firing and so determine threshold behavior for population synchrony.
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29
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Cohen I, Huberfeld G, Miles R. Emergence of disinhibition-induced synchrony in the CA3 region of the guinea pig hippocampus in vitro. J Physiol 2005; 570:583-94. [PMID: 16322056 PMCID: PMC1479869 DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2005.097899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Suppressing inhibition mediated by GABAA receptors induces rhythmic bursts of synchronous firing in the CA3 region of the hippocampus. Extracellular and intracellular records were made from guinea pig hippocampal slices to examine the emergence of this synchrony. We found that application of GABAA receptor antagonists initiated a sequence of changes in the activity of the CA3 neuronal population. First, the frequency of firing detected in multiunit records increased. Then, firing began to oscillate with increases followed by decreases in firing that occurred at intervals of 0.5-2 s. The coherence of the rhythmic activity at a single site increased with time, and discharges at distant sites in the CA3 region became correlated. Fluctuations in firing were associated with extracellular field potentials. Finally, epileptiform events associated with large field potentials began to recur at intervals of 5-10 s. The onset of fully synchronous events was sudden and correlated with a large increase in the amplitude of the field potential. Thus the CA3 population can express states of partial population synchrony preceding the onset of epileptiform discharges. A similar activity was induced and maintained by applying low doses of GABAA receptor antagonists. Intracellular records suggest that inhibitory signalling mediated by GABAB receptors contributes to the emergence of this activity. States of partial synchrony in the CA3 region exposed to GABAA receptor antagonists therefore depend on alternating periods of firing, presumably dependent on excitatory synaptic mechanisms, and silence, mediated in part by the activation of GABAB receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Cohen
- INSERM U739, CHU Pité-Salpêtrière, UPMC, 105 bd de l'Hôpital, Paris, France.
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30
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Abstract
Interictal spikes are periodic, very brief bursts of neuronal activity that are observed in the electroencephalogram of patients with chronic epilepsy. These spikes are useful diagnostically, but we do not know why they are so strongly associated with the spontaneous seizures that characterize chronic epilepsy. Interictal spikes appear before the first spontaneous seizures in animal models of acquired epilepsy, and spikes are sufficient to induce long-term changes in synaptic connections between neurons. Thus, spikes may guide the development of the neuronal circuits that initiate spontaneous seizures. If so, then attempts to prevent or cure epilepsy may best be directed at spikes rather than seizures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Staley
- Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Denver, CO 80262, USA.
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31
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Peña F, Parkis MA, Tryba AK, Ramirez JM. Differential contribution of pacemaker properties to the generation of respiratory rhythms during normoxia and hypoxia. Neuron 2004; 43:105-17. [PMID: 15233921 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2004.06.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 267] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2004] [Revised: 04/15/2004] [Accepted: 06/16/2004] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Pacemaker neurons have been described in most neural networks. However, whether such neurons are essential for generating an activity pattern in a given preparation remains mostly unknown. Here, we show that in the mammalian respiratory network two types of pacemaker neurons exist. Differential blockade of these neurons indicates that their relative contribution to respiratory rhythm generation changes during the transition from normoxia to hypoxia. During hypoxia, blockade of neurons with sodium-dependent bursting properties abolishes respiratory rhythm generation, while in normoxia respiratory rhythm generation only ceases upon pharmacological blockade of neurons with heterogeneous bursting properties. We propose that respiratory rhythm generation in normoxia depends on a heterogeneous population of pacemaker neurons, while during hypoxia the respiratory rhythm is driven by only one type of pacemaker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Peña
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
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Abegg MH, Savic N, Ehrengruber MU, McKinney RA, Gähwiler BH. Epileptiform activity in rat hippocampus strengthens excitatory synapses. J Physiol 2003; 554:439-48. [PMID: 14594985 PMCID: PMC1664764 DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2003.052662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Although epileptic seizures are characterized by excessive excitation, the role of excitatory synaptic transmission in the induction and expression of epilepsy remains unclear. Here, we show that epileptiform activity strengthens excitatory hippocampal synapses by increasing the number of functional (RS)-alpha-amino-3hydroxy-5methyl-4-isoxadepropionate (AMPA)-type glutamate receptors in CA3-CA1 synapses. This form of synaptic strengthening occludes long-term potentiation (LTP) and enhances long-term depression (LTD), processes involved in learning and memory. These changes in synaptic transmission and plasticity, which are fully blocked with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists, may underlie epilepsy induction and seizure-associated memory deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathias H Abegg
- Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
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Mangan PS, Kapur J. Factors underlying bursting behavior in a network of cultured hippocampal neurons exposed to zero magnesium. J Neurophysiol 2003; 91:946-57. [PMID: 14534286 PMCID: PMC2892720 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00547.2003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Factors contributing to reduced magnesium-induced neuronal action potential bursting were investigated in primary hippocampal cell culture at high and low culture density. In nominally zero external magnesium medium, pyramidal neurons from high-density cultures produced recurrent spontaneous action potential bursts superimposed on prolonged depolarizations. These bursts were partially attenuated by the NMDA receptor antagonist d-APV. Pharmacological analysis of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) revealed 2 components: one sensitive to d-APV and another to the AMPA receptor antagonist DNQX. The components were kinetically distinct. Participation of NMDA receptors in reduced magnesium-induced synaptic events was supported by the localization of the NR1 subunit of the NMDA receptor with the presynaptic vesicular protein synaptophysin. Presynaptically, zero magnesium induced a significant increase in EPSC frequency likely attributable to increased neuronal hyperexcitability induced by reduced membrane surface charge screening. Mean quantal content was significantly increased in zero magnesium. Cells from low-density cultures did not exhibit action potential bursting in zero magnesium but did show increased EPSC frequency. Low-density neurons had less synaptophysin immunofluorescence and fewer active synapses as determined by FM1-43 analysis. These results demonstrate that multiple factors are involved in network bursting. Increased probability of transmitter release presynaptically, enhanced NMDA receptor-mediated excitability postsynaptically, and extent of neuronal interconnectivity contribute to initiation and maintenance of elevated network excitability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick S Mangan
- Department of Neurology, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, USA.
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The role of the hyperpolarization-activated cationic current I(h) in the timing of interictal bursts in the neonatal hippocampus. J Neurosci 2003. [PMID: 12736337 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.23-09-03658.2003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Under both pathological and experimental conditions, area CA3 of the adult or juvenile hippocampus generates periodic population discharges known as interictal bursts. Whereas the ionic and synaptic basis of individual bursts has been comprehensively studied experimentally and computationally, the pacemaker mechanisms underlying interictal rhythmicity remain conjectural. We showed previously that rhythmic population discharges resembling interictal bursts can be induced in hippocampal slices from first postnatal week mice, in Mg2+-free solution with GABA(A) receptor-mediated inhibition blocked. Here we show that these neonatal bursts occurred with high temporal precision and that their frequency and regularity were greatly reduced by the bradycardic agent ZD-7288 when applied at concentrations and durations that selectively block the hyperpolarization-activated, cationic current I(h). Augmenting I(h) by elevating intracellular cAMP dramatically increased burst frequency in a protein kinase A-independent manner. Burst amplitudes were strongly correlated with the preceding, but not the following, interburst intervals. The experimentally observed distribution of interburst intervals was modeled by assuming that a burst was triggered whenever the instantaneous rate of spontaneous EPSPs (sEPSPs) exceeded a threshold and that the mean sEPSP rate was minimal immediately after a burst and then relaxed exponentially to a steady-state level. The effect of blocking I(h) in any given slice could be modeled by decreasing only the steady-state sEPSP rate, suggesting that the instantaneous rate of sEPSPs is governed by the level of I(h) activation and raising the novel possibility that interburst intervals reflected the slow activation kinetics of I(h) in the neonatal CA3.
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Hinds HL, Goussakov I, Nakazawa K, Tonegawa S, Bolshakov VY. Essential function of alpha-calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II in neurotransmitter release at a glutamatergic central synapse. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2003; 100:4275-80. [PMID: 12629219 PMCID: PMC153083 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0530202100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A significant fraction of the total calciumcalmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) activity in neurons is associated with synaptic connections and is present in nerve terminals, thus suggesting a role for CaMKII in neurotransmitter release. To determine whether CaMKII regulates neurotransmitter release, we generated and analyzed knockout mice in which the dominant alpha-isoform of CaMKII was specifically deleted from the presynaptic side of the CA3-CA1 hippocampal synapse. Conditional CA3 alpha-CaMKII knockout mice exhibited an unchanged basal probability of neurotransmitter release at CA3-CA1 synapses but showed a significant enhancement in the activity-dependent increase in probability of release during repetitive presynaptic stimulation, as was shown with the analysis of unitary synaptic currents. These data indicate that alpha-CaMKII serves as a negative activity-dependent regulator of neurotransmitter release at hippocampal synapses and maintains synapses in an optimal range of release probabilities necessary for normal synaptic operation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather L Hinds
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Picower Center for Learning and Memory, RIKEN-MIT Neuroscience Research Center, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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Yee AS, Longacher JM, Staley KJ. Convulsant and anticonvulsant effects on spontaneous CA3 population bursts. J Neurophysiol 2003; 89:427-41. [PMID: 12522191 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00594.2002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper analyzes the effects of a convulsant and an anticonvulsant manipulation on spontaneous bursts in CA3 pyramidal cells in the in vitro slice preparation under conditions of low (3.3 mM [K(+)](o)) and high (8.5 mM [K(+)](o)) burst probability. When burst probability was low, the anticonvulsant, pentobarbital, produced the anticipated effects: the burst duration decreased and interburst interval increased. However, when burst probability was high, both anticonvulsant and convulsant manipulations decreased the interburst interval and the burst duration. To reconcile these findings, we utilized a model in which CA3 burst duration is limited by activity-dependent depression of CA3 excitatory recurrent collateral synapses and the interburst interval is determined by the time required to recover from this depression. We defined the burst end threshold as the level of synaptic depression at which bursts terminate, and the burst start threshold as the level of synaptic depression at which burst initiation is possible. Synapses were considered to oscillate between these thresholds. When average burst duration and interburst interval data were fit using this model, the paradoxically similar effects of the convulsant and anticonvulsant manipulations could be quantitatively interpreted. The convulsant maneuver decreased both the burst start and end thresholds. The start threshold decreased more than the end threshold, so that the thresholds were closer together. This decreased the time needed to transition from one threshold to the other, i.e., the interburst interval and burst duration. The anticonvulsant manipulation primarily increased the burst end threshold. This also decreased the difference between thresholds, decreasing both interburst interval and burst duration. This model resolves the paradoxical proconvulsant effects of pentobarbital in the CA3 preparation and provides insights into the effects of anticonvulsants on epileptiform discharges in the human EEG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Audrey S Yee
- Department of Pediatrics, B 182, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver 80262, USA
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Rozzo A, Ballerini L, Abbate G, Nistri A. Experimental and modeling studies of novel bursts induced by blocking na(+) pump and synaptic inhibition in the rat spinal cord. J Neurophysiol 2002; 88:676-91. [PMID: 12163521 DOI: 10.1152/jn.2002.88.2.676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
This study addressed some electrophysiological mechanisms enabling neonatal rat spinal networks in vitro to generate spontaneous rhythmicity. Networks, made up by excitatory connections only after block of GABAergic and glycinergic transmission, develop regular bursting (disinhibited bursts) suppressed by the Na(+) pump blocker strophanthidin. Thus the Na(+) pump is considered important to control bursts. This study, however, shows that, after about 1 h in strophanthidin solution, networks of the rat isolated spinal cord surprisingly resumed spontaneous bursting ("strophanthidin bursting"), which consisted of slow depolarizations with repeated oscillations. This pattern, recorded from lumbar ventral roots, was synchronous on both sides, of irregular periodicity, and lasted for > or =12 h. Assays of (86)Rb(+) uptake by spinal tissue confirmed Na(+) pump block by strophanthidin. The strophanthidin rhythm was abolished by glutamate receptor antagonists or tetrodotoxin, indicating its network origin. N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), serotonin, or high K(+) could not accelerate it. The size of each burst was linearly related to the length of the preceding pause. Bursts could also be generated by dorsal root electrical stimulation and possessed similar dependence on the preceding pause. Conversely, disinhibited bursts could be evoked at short intervals from the preceding one unless repeated pulses were applied in close sequence. These data suggest that rhythmicity expressed by excitatory spinal networks could be controlled by Na(+) pump activity or slow synaptic depression. A model based on the differential time course of pump operation and synaptic depression could simulate disinhibited and strophanthidin bursting, indicating two fundamental, activity-dependent processes for regulating network discharge.
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