depolarization block of neurons during maintenance of.pdfVIP

J Neurophysiol 90: 2402–2408, 2003. First published June 10, 2003; 10.1152/jn.00467.2003. Depolarization Block of Neurons During Maintenance of Electrographic Seizures Marom Bikson,1 Philip J. Hahn,2 John E. Fox,1 and John G.R. Jefferys1 1 Department of Neurophysiology, Division of Neuroscience, The Medical School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom; and 2Department of Mathematics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 Submitted 14 May 2003; accepted in final form 10 June 2003 Bikson, Marom, Philip J. Hahn, John E. Fox, and John G.R. epileptiform events, [K]o can increase sufficiently to induce Jefferys. Depolarization block of neurons during maintenance of depolarization block, that this (rather than neuronal desynchro- electrographic seizures. J Neurophysiol 90: 2402–2408, 2003. First nization) accounts for the loss of population spikes, and that published June 10, 2003; 10.1152/jn.00467.2003. Epileptic seizures [K]o transients can be sustained in the absence of neuronal are associated with neuronal hyperactivity. Here, however, we inves- firing. In addition, we investigated the role of persistent sodium tigated whether continuous neuronal firing is necessary to maintain electrographic seizures. We studied a class of “low-Ca2 ” ictal epi- currents in the generation of depolarization block during elec- leptiform bursts, induced in rat hippocampal slices, that are charac- trographic seizures. We used the low-Ca2 model of epilepsy terized by prolonged (2–15 s) interruptions in population spike gen- (Jefferys and Haas 1982; Taylor and Dudek 1982; Yaari et al. eration. We found that, during these interruptions, neuronal firing was 1983) in which ictal events inc