Accurate Neurosurgery for the Establishment of the Electric Kindling Model of Epilepsy in Mice

Abstract

This article describes in detail the essential stereotaxic neurosurgery to develop the electric experimental kindling model in mice. To date, available literature describing the methodology of the kindling model is very poor and usually neglects many relevant details about the neurosurgery, such as the manufacture of the electrodes, accurate stereotaxic coordinates of the amygdala nuclei, and the general surgery procedures (e.g., anesthesia, postsurgical recovery, fit survival of the animal’s). The electric kindling model produces a progressive development of generalized tonic-clonic seizures, which can be assessed by electroencephalography and behavioral responses. The seizures displayed are produced by a repeated low-intensity electrical stimulation in specific regions of the brain that is achieved through the previous implantation of electrodes. In this study, the aim was to implant the electrodes in basolateral amygdaloid nucleus (BLA). In order to successfully establish the kindling experimental model, neurosurgery to place the electrodes is an essential step to develop the epileptogenic phenomenon. It crucial that the surgery is carried out with exceptional exactitude, because in that way the experimental model represents an accurate and valid tool to study and understand epilepsy and the results obtained can be used to develop further strategies in epilepsy clinical research.

Keywords:

• Stereotaxic neurosurgery
• electrode
• epilepsy
• electrical kindling
• experimental model
• experimental surgery

Acknowledgements

We thank the Armstrong Foundation for the undergraduate scholarship to Jorge Alberto Acosta Magallanes and Dr Monica Padilla de la Torre for her help with the writing and editing of this manuscript. Special thanks to Dr Luigi Bagiadona and Dr Valentina Cardi for their comments.

Disclosure statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.