title: Anti-epileptogenic effect of high-frequency stimulation in the thalamic reticular nucleus on PTZ-induced seizures.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Deep brain stimulation, specifically high-frequency stimulation (HFS), is an alternative and promising treatment for intractable epilepsies; however, the optimal targets are still unknown. The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) occupies a key position in the modulation of the cortico-thalamic and thalamo-cortical pathways.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We determined the efficacy of HFS in the TRN against tonic-clonic generalized seizures (TCGS) and status epilepticus (SE), which were induced by scheduled pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) injections.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male Wistar rats were stereotactically implanted and assigned to three experimental groups: Control group, which received only PTZ injections; HFS-TRN group, which received HFS in the left TRN prior to PTZ injections; and HFS-Adj group, which received HFS in the left adjacent nuclei prior to PTZ injections.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The HFS-TRN group reported a significant increase in the latency for development of TCGS and SE compared with the HFS-Adj and Control groups (P < 0.009). The number of PTZ-doses required for SE was also significantly increased (P < 0.001). Spectral analysis revealed a significant decrease in the frequency band from 0.5 Hz to 4.5 Hz of the left motor cortex in the HFS-TRN and HFS-Adj groups, compared to the Control group. Conversely, HFS-TRN provoked a significant increase in all frequency bands in the TRN. EEG asynchrony was observed during spike-wave discharges by HFS-TRN.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data indicate that HFS-TRN has an anti-epileptogenic effect and is able to modify seizure synchrony and interrupt abnormal EEG recruitment of thalamo-cortical and, indirectly, cortico-thalamic pathways.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neurofisiología del Control y la Regulación, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico; Carrera de Psicología, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza-UNAM, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Pantoja-Jiménez
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neurofisiología del Control y la Regulación, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico; Carrera de Psicología, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza-UNAM, Ciudad de México, Mexico. Electronic address: maleno@imp.edu.mx.
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Magdaleno-Madrigal
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neurofisiología del Control y la Regulación, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Almazán-Alvarado
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neurofisiología del Control y la Regulación, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fernández-Mas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D046690:Deep Brain Stimulation; D008297:Male; D010433:Pentylenetetrazole; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012640:Seizures / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D013226:Status Epilepticus / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D013787:Thalamic Nuclei / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D010433:Pentylenetetrazole
keywords: Deep brain stimulation; Experimental epileptic seizures; Neuromodulation; Spike-wave discharges; Thalamic reticular nucleus