Encyclopedia of Basic Epilepsy Research
2009, Pages 815-819
NETWORKS | Cellular Properties and Synaptic Connectivity of CA3 Pyramidal Cells: Mechanisms for Epileptic Synchronization and Epileptogenesis
The study of basic mechanisms of epilepsy is generally focused on (1) the generation of interictal spikes, (2) the generation of ictal discharges, and (3) the mechanisms of epileptogenesis . The in vitro hippocampal CA3 pyramidal cell network is an appropriate model system for the study of all the three issues. Interictal-like discharges can be elicited in the CA3 population via recurrent synaptic activation of ionotropic glutamate receptors. Ictal-like discharges can be activated synaptically by stimulation of both group I metabotropic and ionotropic glutamate receptors associated with the recurrent connections of CA3 pyramidal cells. In addition, activation of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors in the CA3 pyramidal network triggers an mRNA translation-dependent plasticity process, which converts the normal activities of the CA3 pyramidal cell population to a persistent hypersynchronized epileptiform state – that is, epileptogenesis. This article describes the experimental conditions upon which interical-like discharges; ictal-like discharges, and epileptogenesis are elicited in the CA3 pyramidal cell network. Furthermore, available information regarding the generation mechanisms, from molecular signaling to network levels, are summarized.
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