Unilateral and Bilateral Cortical Resection: Effects on Spike-Wave Discharges in a Genetic Absence Epilepsy Model |
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| Authors: | Francesca Scicchitano Clementina M van Rijn Gilles van Luijtelaar |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Biological Psychology, Donders Centre for Cognition, Donders Institution of Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.; 2. Department of Health Science, School of Medicine and Surgery, University “Magna Graecia” of Catanzaro, Viale Europa—Germaneto, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy.; University Paris 6, FRANCE, |
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| Abstract: | Research QuestionRecent discoveries have challenged the traditional view that the thalamus is the primary source driving spike-and-wave discharges (SWDs). At odds, SWDs in genetic absence models have a cortical focal origin in the deep layers of the perioral region of the somatosensory cortex. The present study examines the effect of unilateral and bilateral surgical resection of the assumed focal cortical region on the occurrence of SWDs in anesthetized WAG/Rij rats, a well described and validated genetic absence model.MethodsMale WAG/Rij rats were used: 9 in the resected and 6 in the control group. EEG recordings were made before and after craniectomy, after unilateral and after bilateral removal of the focal region.ResultsSWDs decreased after unilateral cortical resection, while SWDs were no longer noticed after bilateral resection. This was also the case when the resected areas were restricted to layers I-IV with layers V and VI intact.ConclusionsThese results suggest that SWDs are completely abolished after bilateral removal of the focal region, most likely by interference with an intracortical columnar circuit. The evidence suggests that absence epilepsy is a network type of epilepsy since interference with only the local cortical network abolishes all seizures. |
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