Background suppression of electrical activity is a potential biomarker of subsequent brain injury in a rat model of neonatal hypoxia-ischemia.

Electrographic seizures and abnormal background activity in the neonatal electroencephalogram (EEG) may differentiate between harmful versus benign brain insults. Using two animal models of neonatal seizures, electrical activity was recorded in freely behaving rats and examined quantitatively during successive time periods with field-potential recordings obtained shortly after the brain insult (i.e.

APC conditional knock-out mouse is a model of infantile spasms with elevated neuronal β-catenin levels, neonatal spasms, and chronic seizures.

Infantile spasms (IS) are a catastrophic childhood epilepsy syndrome characterized by flexion-extension spasms during infancy that progress to chronic seizures and cognitive deficits in later life. The molecular causes of IS are poorly defined. Genetic screens of individuals with IS have identified multiple risk genes, several of which are predicted to alter β-catenin pathways.

Ischemic injury suppresses hypoxia-induced electrographic seizures and the background EEG in a rat model of perinatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.

The relationship among neonatal seizures, abnormalities of the electroencephalogram (EEG), brain injury, and long-term neurological outcome (e.g., epilepsy) remains controversial.

Long-term Continuous EEG Monitoring in Small Rodent Models of Human Disease Using the Epoch Wireless Transmitter System.

Many progressive neurologic diseases in humans, such as epilepsy, require pre-clinical animal models that slowly develop the disease in order to test interventions at various stages of the disease process. These animal models are particularly difficult to implement in immature rodents, a classic model organism for laboratory study of these disorders. Recording continuous EEG in young animal models of seizures and other neurological disorders presents a technical challenge due to the small physical size of young rodents and their dependence on the dam prior to weaning.

Optogenetic stimulation of MCH neurons increases sleep.

Melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) is a cyclic neuropeptide present in the hypothalamus of all vertebrates. MCH is implicated in a number of behaviors but direct evidence is lacking. To selectively stimulate the MCH neurons the gene for the light-sensitive cation channel, channelrhodopsin-2, was inserted into the MCH neurons of wild-type mice.

Recording EEG in immature rats with a novel miniature telemetry system.

Serial EEG recordings from immature rat pups are extremely difficult to obtain but important for analyzing animal models of neonatal seizures and other pediatric neurological conditions as well as normal physiology. In this report, we describe the features and applications of a novel miniature telemetry system designed to record EEG in rat pups as young as postnatal day 6 (P6). First, we have recorded electrographic seizure activity in two animal models of neonatal seizures, hypoxia- and kainate-induced seizures at P7.

Ephrin-A5 inhibits growth of embryonic sensory neurons.

EphA-ephrin signaling has recently been implicated in the establishment of motor innervation patterns, in particular in determining whether motor axons project into dorsal versus ventral nerve trunks in the limb. We investigated whether sensory axons, which grow out together with and can be guided by motor axons, are also influenced by Eph-ephrin signaling. We show that multiple EphA receptors are expressed in DRGs when limb innervation is being established, and EphA receptors are present on growth cones of both NGF-dependent (predominantly cutaneous) and NT3-dependent (predominantly proprioceptive) afferents.