Research article summary (published 30 Dec 1991):

The dentate gyrus as a control point for seizures in the hippocampus and beyond.

Full Abstract

Considerable in vitro work has pointed to a resistance of dentate gyrus granule cells for expressing epileptiform paroxysms. However, in vivo work has shown that these neurons, under appropriate conditions, support and sustain seizure discharges. This range of activity of granule cells, along with their location in the middle of a pathway that connects hippocampal regions with high propensities for generating seizures, allows the dentate gyrus to act as a critical regulator of seizures. In the following report we review experiments on a stereotyped, robust paroxysmal discharge, maximal dentate activation (MDA), that occurs in granule cells, and we examine the role of MDA in reinforcing seizures in hippocampal circuits. In addition, work is presented that indicates MDA regulates seizures at sites beyond the hippocampus and its connections. Other studies that examine morphological and functional changes in the local circuits of granule cells and other neurons in the dentate gyrus in different models of epilepsy are discussed. We conclude that the dentate gyrus functions in several modes during seizures, even in the naive brain, and that in chronic epilepsy alterations take place that provide an even greater diversity of functional capabilities. Explicating these heterogeneous conditions will provide important insight into basic mechanisms of seizures and epileptogenesis.

Author information

Author/s: Lothman, E W (EW); Stringer, J L (JL); Bertram, E H (EH);

Affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville 222908.

Grants: NS 21617 (Agency:NINDS NIH HHS) ; NS 25605 (Agency:NINDS NIH HHS) ; NS 28871 (Agency:NINDS NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.; Review

Journal: Epilepsy research. Supplement (Epilepsy Res Suppl), published in NETHERLANDS. (Language: eng)

Reference: 1992-; vol 7 (issue ) : pp 301-13

Dates: Created 1993/01/28; Completed 1993/01/28; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 1334669, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 2/18/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MeSH Headings (categories) shown below.

Afferent Pathways - physiopathology Amygdala - physiopathology Animals Brain Mapping Epilepsy - physiopathology Hippocampus - physiopathology Kindling, Neurologic - physiology Limbic System - physiopathology

Limbic System - physiopathology Nerve Net - physiopathology Nerve Regeneration - physiology Neural Inhibition - physiology Neurons - physiology Seizures - physiopathology Synaptic Transmission - physiology gamma-Aminobutyric Acid - physiology

Note: Bold headings indicate primary MeSH headings or qualifiers.

Associated Chemicals: gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (56-12-2)

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