Lateral asymmetry in activation of hypothalamic neurons with unilateral amygdaloid seizures.
OBJECTIVE
Reproductive disorders are unusually frequent among women with temporal lobe seizures. The particular type of disorder may be related to the laterality and focality of epileptiform discharges. Here we examined whether unilateral amygdaloid seizures activate hypothalamic neurons involved in reproductive function and reproductive endocrine secretion in female rats and whether such activation shows lateral asymmetry.


METHODS
Numbers of Fos-immunoreactive (Fos-ir) neurons in various hypothalamic regions were compared for three groups of animals: (a) unilateral amygdala-kindled, (b) implanted but unstimulated, and (c) unimplanted.


RESULTS
Fos-ir neurons showed strong ipsilateral occurrence in the medial preoptic, ventrolateral part of the ventromedial, and ventral premammillary nuclei, sexually dimorphic regions involved in reproductive endocrine regulation. No significant lateral asymmetry was observed for other investigated hypothalamic regions.


CONCLUSIONS
Unilateral amygdaloid seizures activate hypothalamic neurons that regulate reproductive endocrine secretion in a laterally asymmetric fashion. This may explain the clinical association of different reproductive endocrine disorders with left and right temporal epileptiform discharges.
Silveira
D C
DC
Neuroendocrine Unit, Harvard Institute of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.
Klein
P
P
Ransil
B J
BJ
Liu
Z
Z
Hori
A
A
Holmes
G L
GL
de LaCalle
S
S
Elmquist
J
J
Herzog
A G
AG
D000679:Amygdala / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000473:pathology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012640:Seizures / Q000473:pathology*