Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent seizures that affects millions of people worldwide. Comprehension of the complex mechanisms underlying epileptogenesis and seizure generation in temporal lobe epilepsy and other forms of epilepsy cannot be fully acquired in clinical studies with humans. As a result, the use of appropriate animal models is essential. Some of these models replicate the natural history of symptomatic focal epilepsy with an initial epileptogenic insult, which is followed by an apparent latent period and by a subsequent period of chronic spontaneous seizures. Seizures are a combination of electrical and behavioral events that are able to induce chemical, molecular, and anatomic alterations. In this review, we summarize the most frequently used models of chronic epilepsy and models of acute seizures induced by chemoconvulsants, traumatic brain injury, and electrical or sound stimuli. Genetic models of absence seizures and models of seizures and status epilepticus in the immature brain were also examined. Major uses and limitations were highlighted, and neuropathological, behavioral, and neurophysiological similarities and differences between the model and the human equivalent were considered. The quest for seizure mechanisms can provide insights into overall brain functions and consciousness, and animal models of epilepsy will continue to promote the progress of both epilepsy and neurophysiology research.

Summary Disrupted mesocortical dopamine contributes to cognitive symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Past work has implicated medial frontal neurons expressing D1 dopamine receptors (D1DRs) in temporal processing. Here, we investigate if these neurons can compensate for behavioral deficits resulting from midbrain dopamine dysfunction. We report three main results. First, both PD patients and mice with ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine depletion had attenuated delta activity (1–4 Hz) in the medial frontal cortex (MFC) during interval timing. Second, we found that optogenetically stimulating MFC D1DR neurons could increase ramping activity among MFC neurons. Finally, stimulating MFC D1DR neurons specifically at delta frequencies (2 Hz) compensated for deficits in temporal control of action caused by VTA dopamine depletion. Our results suggest that cortical networks can be targeted by frequency-specific brain stimulation to improve dopamine-dependent cognitive processing.

Medial frontal cortical (MFC) dopamine is essential for the organization of behavior in time. Our prior work indicates that blocking D1 dopamine receptors (D1DR) attenuates temporal processing and low-frequency oscillations by MFC neuronal networks. Here we investigate the effects of focal infusion of the D1DR agonist SKF82958 into MFC during interval timing. MFC D1DR agonist infusion impaired interval timing performance without changing overall firing rates of MFC neurons. MFC ramping patterns of neuronal activity that reflect temporal processing were attenuated following infusion of MFC D1DR agonist. MFC D1DR agonist infusion also altered MFC field potentials by enhancing delta activity between 1 and 4 Hz and attenuating alpha activity between 8 and 15 Hz. These data support the idea that the influence of D1-dopamine signals on frontal neuronal activity adheres to a U-shaped curve, and that cognition requires optimal levels of dopamine in frontal cortex.

Organizing movements in time is a critical and highly conserved feature of mammalian behavior. Temporal control of action requires corticostriatal networks. We investigate these networks in rodents using a two-interval timing task while recording LFPs in medial frontal cortex (MFC) or dorsomedial striatum. Consistent with prior work, we found cue-triggered delta (1–4 Hz) and theta activity (4–8 Hz) primarily in rodent MFC. We observed delta activity across temporal intervals in MFC and dorsomedial striatum. Rewarded responses were associated with increased delta activity in MFC. Activity in theta bands in MFC and delta bands in the striatum was linked with the timing of responses. These data suggest both delta and theta activity in frontostriatal networks are modulated during interval timing and that activity in these bands may be involved in the temporal control of action.

TLE and psychiatric symptoms coexist more frequently than chance would predict. Alterations and neurotransmission disturbance among critical anatomical networks, and impaired or aberrant plastic changes might predispose patients with TLE to mood disorders. Clinical and experimental studies of the effects of seizures on behavior and electrophysiological patterns may offer a model of how limbic seizures increase the vulnerability of TLE patients to precipitants of psychiatric symptoms.

No abstract

Oropouche virus (OROV) is an important cause of arboviral illness in Brazil and other Latin American countries, with most cases clinically manifested as acute febrile illness referred to as Oropouche fever, including myalgia, headache, arthralgia and malaise. However, OROV can also affect the central nervous system (CNS) with clinical neurological implications. Little is known regarding OROV pathogenesis, especially how OROV gains access to the CNS. In the present study, neonatal BALB/c mice were inoculated with OROV by the subcutaneous route and the progression of OROV spread into the CNS was evaluated. Immunohistochemistry revealed that OROV infection advances from posterior parts of the brain, including the periaqueductal gray, toward the forebrain. In the early phases of the infection OROV gains access to neural routes, reaching the spinal cord and ascending to the brain through brainstem regions, with little inflammation. Later, as infection progresses, OROV crosses the blood-brain barrier, resulting in more intense spread into the brain parenchyma, with more severe manifestations of encephalitis.

Mood disorders are associated to functional unbalance in mesolimbic and frontal cortical circuits. As a commonly used mood stabilizer, lithium acts through multiple biochemical pathways, including those activated by muscarinic cholinergic receptors crucial for hippocampal-prefrontal communication. Therefore, here we investigated the effects of lithium on prefrontal cortex responses under cholinergic drive. Lithium-treated rats were anesthetized with urethane and implanted with a ventricular cannula for muscarinic activation, a recording electrode in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and a stimulating electrode in the intermediate hippocampal CA1. Either of two forms of synaptic plasticity, long-term potentiation (LTP) or depression (LTD), were induced during pilocarpine effects, which were monitored in real time through local field potentials. We found that lithium attenuates the muscarinic potentiation of cortical LTP (<20 min) but enhances the muscarinic potentiation of LTD maintenance (>80 min). Moreover, lithium treatment promoted significant cross-frequency coupling between CA1 theta (3-5 Hz) and mPFC low-gamma (30-55 Hz) oscillations. Interestingly, lithium by itself did not affect any of these measures. Thus, lithium pretreatment and muscarinic activation synergistically modulate the hippocampal-prefrontal connectivity. Because these alterations varied with time, oscillatory parameters, and type of synaptic plasticity, our study suggests that lithium influences prefrontal-related circuits through intricate dynamics, informing future experiments on mood disorders.