Topic: recurrent seizures

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures resulting from abnormal electrical activity in the brain. All experimental models for seizure generation are based on the administration of drugs (e.g. pilocarpine), on artificial increase in the concentrations of extracellular K+ (Ko) or on direct electric stimulation, to name a few. However, all these approaches may not accurately reflect the in vivo conditions, where otherwise normal neuronal activity can generate occasional seizures. It is thus important to better understand the pathological changes that may be

Neuroplasticity refers to functional and structural changes in brain regions in response to healthy and pathological activity. Neuroplasticity induced by epileptic activity can involve healthy brain regions into the epileptogenic network by perturbing their excitation/inhibition balance. Here, we present a new neural mass model that accounts for neuroplasticity and that is used to investigate the possible mechanisms underlying the epileptogenic network expansion. We formulate physiological calcium-mediated synaptic plasticity and pathological structural plasticity in a multiple-timescale frame