Down syndrome (DS) is a complex genetic syndrome characterized by intellectual disability, dysmorphism and variable additional physiological traits. Current research progress has begun to decipher the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment, leading to new therapeutic perspectives. Pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) has recently been found to have positive effects on learning and memory capaciti...

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) represent a potential therapeutic target. Possible anticonvulsant action of AMN 082, an agonist of mGluR7 subtype, was studied in immature rats using pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizures as a model. Five age groups of rats (7-, 12-, 18-, 25-day-old and adult animals) were pretreated with AMN 082 in doses of 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 mg/kg i.p. and 30 min lat...

Phosphatidylinositol (3-5) trisphosphate (PIP3) is a central regulator of diverse neuronal functions that are critical for seizure progression, however its role in seizures is unclear. We have recently hypothesised that valproic acid (VPA), one of the most commonly used drugs for the treatment of epilepsy, may target PIP3 signalling as a therapeutic mode of action. Here, we show that seizure in...

Modafinil, is a wake-promoting drug approved by Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) for narcolepsy and sleep-apnoe syndrome. Although the mechanism underlying its arousal action remains elusive, it is known to increase glutamatergic, histaminergic, noradrenergic and dopaminergic transmission and decrease GABA release in different regions of the brain, which are all known to be involved in patho...

Anxiety and depression are component of interictal behavioral deteriorations that occur as a consequence of kindling, a procedure to induce chronic epilepsy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible effects of electrical stimulation (ES) of paleocerebellar cortex on anxiety and depressive-like behavior in a PTZ kindled epilepsy model. Kindling was induced via pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) (...

Several lines of evidence suggest that norepinephrine (NE) can modulate seizure activity. However, the experimental methods used in the past cannot exclude the possible role of other neurotransmitters coreleased with NE from noradrenergic terminals. We have assessed the seizure susceptibility of genetically engineered mice that lack NE. Seizure susceptibility was determined in the dopamine beta...

objective: antiepileptic drugs (aeds) that are usually used for treatment of epilepsy have substantial side effects and about 30% of patients continue to have seizures with current aeds therapy. some herbs which traditionally used in the management of seizures of many rural areas of the developing countries have shown anticonvulsant activity in modern pharmacological bioassays. the aim of the p...

introduction: the hippocampus was recognized as an important focus of epileptic seizures. a long-term potentiation (ltp) like that of epileptiform activities is considered as synaptic which has been observed for the first time in hippocampal formation. the purpose of the present study was investigating the synaptic plasticity induced by tetanic stimulation at ca1 area of the rat hippocampal sli...

introduction: pentylenetetrazol (ptz) is one of the most often used epileptogenic agents. several effects of this epileptogenic drug have been described, but the mechanism of the epileptogenic action of ptz at the cellular level is still unclear. in this study the effect of ptz, on the ionic currents of d5 neuronal soma membrane in helixaspersa, using intracellular recording technique was inves...