title: Ketogenic diet prevents neuronal firing increase within the substantia nigra during pentylenetetrazole-induced seizure in rats.
abstract: The mechanism responsible for the anti-seizure effect of ketogenic diets is poorly understood. Because the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) is a "gate" center for seizures, the aim of the present experiment was to evaluate if a ketogenic diet modifies the neuronal response of this nucleus when a seizure-inducing drug is administered in rats. Two groups of rats were given a standard diet (group 1) or a ketogenic diet (group 2) for four weeks, then the threshold for seizure induction and the firing rate of putative GABAergic neurons within the SNr were evaluated with progressive infusion of pentylenetetrazole under general anesthesia. The results demonstrated that the ketogenic diet abolished the correlation between the firing rate response of SNr-neurons and the seizure-threshold. This result suggests that the anti-seizure effect of ketogenic diets can be due to a decrease in reactivity of GABAergic SNr-neurons.
authors.affiliation: Dept. Medicine and Surgery, University of Salerno, Baronissi, SA, Italy. Electronic address: aviggiano@unisa.it.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Viggiano
authors.affiliation: Dept. Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Madison
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stoddard
authors.affiliation: UO Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Medical School, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pisano
authors.affiliation: UO Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Medical School, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca Felicia
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Operto
authors.affiliation: Dept. Medicine and Surgery, University of Salerno, Baronissi, SA, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Iovane
authors.affiliation: Dept. Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Marcellino
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monda
authors.affiliation: Dept. Medicine and Surgery, University of Salerno, Baronissi, SA, Italy; UO Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Medical School, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy.
authors.forename: Giangennaro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coppola
mesh_terms: D020155:3-Hydroxybutyric Acid / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology; D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000187:drug effects; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D003292:Convulsants / Q000633:toxicity; D055423:Diet, Ketogenic / Q000379:methods*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D010433:Pentylenetetrazole / Q000633:toxicity; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012640:Seizures / Q000097:blood / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000178:diet therapy*; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D003292:Convulsants; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D020155:3-Hydroxybutyric Acid; D010433:Pentylenetetrazole
keywords: Ketogenic diet; Pentylenetetrazole; Seizure threshold; Substantia nigra