Kindling and its consequences on learning in rats

Becker, Axel; Grecksch, Gisela; Rüthrich, H; Pohle, W. D.; Marx, Bernhard; Matthies, H

doi:10.1016/0163-1047(92)90735-m

Cited by 113 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Kindling inherently affects activity in widespread brain regions and thus might be expected to alter a variety of different functions capable of compromising spatial task performance. Indeed, kindling has been shown to alter sensory evoked potentials, motor function, emotional behavior, and performance in some nonspatial tasks (Adamec, 1998;Becker et al, 1992;Boast and McIntyre, 1977;Ehlers and Koob, 1985;Pinel et al, 1998;Robinson et al, 1989;Tsuru and Shimada, 1984). Thus, the contribution of nonmnemonic or nonspatial mnemonic impairments to deficits in performance on spatial tasks needs to be seriously investigated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Dorsal hippocampal kindling selectively impairs spatial learning/short‐term memory

2001

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Kindling with electrical stimulation of the dorsal hippocampus has been shown to disrupt spatial task performance in rats. The present study investigated the specificity of this effect in terms of the possible contribution of nonmnemonic effects, the presence of a more general mnemonic deficit, and the involvement of learning/short-term memory and/or long-term memory processes. Rats were fully kindled with stimulation of the dorsal hippocampus and subsequently tested for acquisition, 7-day retention, and 28-day retention of a hidden platform (HP) location in the Morris water maze and an object discrimination problem in a modified water maze. To control for nonmnemonic behavioral impairments, testing on both tasks was preceded by training on visible platform control tasks. Kindling impaired acquisition of the HP location but spared performance on all other aspects of testing, indicating a specific impairment of spatial learning/short-term memory. These results suggest that epileptogenesis induced by hippocampal stimulation is indeed associated with a selective disruption of the mechanisms mediating spatial learning/short-term memory.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Dorsal hippocampal kindling selectively impairs spatial learning/short‐term memory

2001

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“…This deficit was strongly dependent on a fully kindled state. Changes in motivation, motor performance or pain threshold as a basis for this deficit were excluded (Becker et al 1992;Grecksch et al 1997). It was still detectable after a PTZ-free period of 4 weeks, suggesting long-lasting alterations in brain functions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of piracetam on pentylenetetrazol-kindling development, hippocampal potentiation phenomena and kindling-induced learning deficit

Rüthrich

Grecksch

Krug

1999

Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch Pharmacol

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Kindling is a generally accepted model for studying epilepsy development in the context of overexpression of processes of neuronal plasticity. In previous studies we have shown that establishment of kindling by repeated application of subconvulsive doses of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) also led to marked changes in hippocampal excitability and an impairment in learning behaviour. With the intention of further investigating the relationship between kindling development, kindling-induced changes in excitability and learning deficits, rats were chemically kindled under pretreatment with the nootropic drug piracetam. Furthermore, we tested acute piracetam effects on developed kindling seizures, the learning deficit and potentiation effects. At the investigated dose piracetam did not influence the kindling development. The kindling-induced potentiation of hippocampal field potentials was significantly diminished in piracetam-pretreated rats. Piracetam acutely injected completely antagonized this potentiation effect. Piracetam brought about a significant improvement in impaired learning performance in rats pretreated during kindling induction and acutely injected before the learning experiment, respectively. Possible correlations between the suppressing of the kindling related potentiation in hippocampal structures by piracetam and its beneficial effect on learning impairment are discussed as antagonizing overexpression of potentiation in the course of kindling.

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“…In both strains, the lowering of seizure threshold as a result of the chronic treatment was still clearly evident when the rats were tested 1 week after the end of kindling. Long-lasting reductions in seizure threshold and impairments in avoidance paradigms and habituation have previously been reported following P T Z kindling (Becker et al, 1992;GenkovaPapazova and Lazarova-Bakarova, 1995;File and Becker, 1995). This suggests that there must be some very longlasting central nervous system CNS changes and the that persisted up to 9 weeks after kindling (Schroder et al, 1994) would be a good candidate for mediating some of the changes in learning tasks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Short-term rebound anxiolytic effects and long-term changes in platelet benzodiazepine binding after pentylenetetrazole-kindling in two strains of rat

File

Mabbutt

Becker

et al. 1996

Anxiety

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Although there were no differences in response to an acute injection of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ), there were strain differences in the development of kindled seizures to repeated injections (PTZ; 30 mg/kg 3 times weekly for 13 injections), with Wistar rats reaching stage 4 or 5 of clonic‐tonic seizures, but hooded Lister rats reaching only stage 2 or 3 of convulsive waves axially through the body. The strains also reacted differently to a test dose of PTZ (20 mg/kg) one week after the end of kindling, with the Wistar strain showing stage 3 and the Lister strain stage 2 seizures. When the rats were tested 24 h after the end of the kindling injections there was an anxiolytic effect in the social interaction test, in both the low light, familiar and the low light, unfamiliar test conditions that reached significance in the Wistar strain. The Wistar kindled rats showed an anxiolytic effect in the elevated plus‐maze test of anxiety when they were tested 24 h after the end of kindling. The anxiolytic effects found 24 h after kindling could not be due to the seizure 24 h earlier, since no changes were found in rats tested 24 h after a single seizure from PTZ (60 mg/kg). When the rats were tested 1 week after the end of kindling there were no changes, compared with vehicle‐injected controls, in either test of anxiety. There was no change in benzodiazepine binding in platelets of the kindled Lister rats but there was a significant increase in the kindled Wistar rats 1 week after the end of kindling and also 24 h after a single PTZ seizure. The pattern of increased platelet benzodiazepine binding did not correspond with the time course of rebound anxiolytic effects. However, after kindling it seems that there are long‐lasting changes in benzodiazepine binding that are similar to the short‐term increases that are found following a single seizure. Anxiety 2:109–116 (1996). © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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Kindling and its consequences on learning in rats

Cited by 113 publications

References 25 publications

Dorsal hippocampal kindling selectively impairs spatial learning/short‐term memory

Dorsal hippocampal kindling selectively impairs spatial learning/short‐term memory

Effects of piracetam on pentylenetetrazol-kindling development, hippocampal potentiation phenomena and kindling-induced learning deficit

Short-term rebound anxiolytic effects and long-term changes in platelet benzodiazepine binding after pentylenetetrazole-kindling in two strains of rat

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