Fedoryuk M. The role of acid-sensing ion channels in the electrical activity of the hippocampus and the behavior of rats in the model of induced epilepsy.

The dissertation on competition of a scientific degree of the candidate of sciences in Biology (PhD) on a specialty 03.00.02 – biophysics. Bogomolets Institute of Physiology, NAS of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2020. The dissertation is devoted to determining the role of acid-sensing ion channels in the electrical activity of the hippocampus and the behavior of rats in an experimental model of induced epilepsy. Using the acid-sensing ion channels antagonist 5b, we first demonstrated that acid-sensing ion channels conduction blockade has a marked antiepileptic effect in an experiment with kainate-induced epileptiform activity in hippocampal CA1 cells in vivo. It was found that blocking the activity of acid-sensing ion channels leads to a decrease in both the dominant frequency of theta rhythm and the overall level of locomotor activity in the “open field” test. In our study, we showed that animals with induced epilepsy showed a reduced level of natural anxiety to avoid open arms in the “elevated plus maze” test, and compound 5b helps to normalize it. We also found for the first time that compound 5b significantly affected the overall level of locomotor activity in the behavior of animals with induced epilepsy in the “elevated plus maze” test. Pharmacological blockade of acid-sensing ion channels in rats significantly restored the emotional learning caused by fear, impaired by the induction of epilepsy.