Isaeva O. The impact of epileptiform activity on rat brain functioning.

We investigated the effects of early-life epileptiform activity on the brain functioning and mechanisms of the development of acquired epilepsy provoked by status epilepticus. Studies conducted on different models of epileptiform activity during development reveal the long-term changes in the excitability of neuronal networks and synaptic plasticity in different brain regions of rats with neonatal seizures. Using a new model of epileptiform activity localized in prefrontal cortex, we found substantial behavioral changes in attention and sociability in animals with a history of early-life epileptiform activity. Finally, the role of thrombin and its molecular receptor in the brain, protease-activated receptor 1, on the development of temporal lobe epilepsy was investigated. Our data suggests that thrombin-dependent signaling pathway contributes to epileptogenesis following status epilepticus and that the inhibition of protease-activated receptor 1 results in neuroprotective and anti-epileptogenic effects.