Decreases in Neuron Density in the Compact Zone of the Substantia Nigra Correlate with Low Peak-Wave Activity in WAG/Rij Rats

Autor: E. Yu. Sitnikova, T. N. Egorova, V. V. Raevskii
Rok vydání: 2014
Předmět:
Zdroj: Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology. 44:141-148
ISSN: 1573-899X
0097-0549
DOI: 10.1007/s11055-014-9888-3
Popis: Studies in WAG/Rij rats, which have a genetic predisposition to absence epilepsy, addressed the age dynamics of convulsive activity on EEG traces in the frontal areas of the cortex and age-related changes in the cell composition of the compact zone of the substantia nigra over the age range 1–10 months. Rats aged 10 months showed significant decreases in the numbers of neurons and increases in the number of glial cells in the substantia nigra as compared with animals aged one month. During the period 5–9 months, the numbers of epileptic discharges and their durations increased by a large factor. Correlation analysis identified a positive relationship between the intensity of epileptic activity on the EEG and the number of neurons in the substantia nigra, i.e., animals with small numbers of neurons in the SN had less intense epileptic seizures and vice versa. It is suggested that the decrease in the number of neurons in the substantia nigra is an adaptive reaction directed to preventing the development of absence epilepsy.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz: