Enriched environment attenuates behavioral seizures and depression in chronic temporal lobe epilepsy

Abstract

This is the first study that evaluates the role of EE in a chronic TLE model, where rats were exposed to EE after occurrence of spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS). Given that 30% of TLE patients are refractory to drug treatment, therapeutic strategies that utilize components of EE could be designed to alleviate seizures and psychiatric comorbidities associated with TLE.

Targeting the Mouse Ventral Hippocampus in the Intrahippocampal Kainic Acid Model of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

“…However, our data show that ventral hippocampal KA administration strongly elicits anhedonia. While depressive-like behavior has been reported in various TLE models ( Mazarati et al, 2008 , 2009, 2010 ; Tchekalarova et al, 2011 ; Vrinda et al, 2017 ), it has not been universally observed. In fact, multiple reports indicate a decrease in measures of depressive-like behavior in various TLE models ( Wintink et al, 2003 ; Adamec et al, 2004 ; Dos Santos et al, 2005 ; Inostroza et al, 2012 ; Lopes et al, 2016 ).…”

“…Similar to reports on depressive-like behavior, the literature on anxiety in animal models of TLE is highly mixed. Across different rodent species, different timepoints, and different TLE models (e.g., dKA, intraperitoneal pilocarpine, intraperitoneal KA, amygdalar kindling, amygdalar KA), some studies report increased anxiety-like behavior ( Wintink et al, 2003 ; Mohajeri et al, 2004 ; Müller et al, 2009 ; Liu et al, 2013 ; Lopes et al, 2016 ; Otsuka et al, 2016 ), while others report decreased anxiety-like behavior ( Adamec et al, 2004 ; Detour et al, 2005 ; Dos Santos et al, 2005 ; Inostroza et al, 2011 , 2012 ; Vrinda et al, 2017 ). Differences in methods and models, as well as potentially in strains and species, undoubtedly play a role in the controversy ( Klee et al, 2017 ; Löscher et al, 2017 ).…”

Music-Enhanced Analgesia and Antiseizure Activities in Animal Models of Pain and Epilepsy: Toward Preclinical Studies Supporting Development of Digital Therapeutics and Their Combinations With Pharmaceutical Drugs

“…Since antidepressants and psychotherapies have comparably low remission rates (30-40%) in patients with depression (140), delivering depression-related digital content (e.g., physical exercise and music) may help to ameliorate depressive symptoms (20,23,126,(141)(142)(143). From preclinical development perspectives, it is worth mentioning that EE was shown to reduce seizures in temporal lobe epilepsy model in rats (144) and depressive symptoms after seizures (49). Our study also has implications for other chronic medical conditions including cancer.…”

Effects of Single Cage Housing on Stress, Cognitive, and Seizure Parameters in the Rat and Mouse Pilocarpine Models of Epilepsy

“…To precisely assess seizures with continuous video-EEG recordings, instrumented animals are singly housed to prevent the severing of EEG wires and aggressive behavior from others and to clearly identify individuals on the video. Several studies have shown that environmental enrichment has positive effects on seizure frequency or severity in experimental models (Morelli et al, 2014; Kotloski and Sutula, 2015; Dezsi et al, 2016; Vrinda et al, 2017), but the effect of social isolation starting from the beginning of the experimental procedure in the presence of environmental enrichment has not been assessed.…”