Inappropriate Neural Activity during a Sensitive Period in Embryogenesis Results in Persistent Seizure-like Behavior.

ABSTRACT: Maturation of neural circuits requires activity-dependent processes that underpin the emergence of appropriate behavior in the adult. It has been proposed that disruption of these events, during specific critical periods when they exert maximal influence, may lead to neurodevelopmental diseases, including epilepsy. However, complexity of neurocircuitry, coupled with the lack of information on network formation in mammals, makes it difficult to directly investigate this hypothesis. Alternative models, including the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, show remarkable similarities between experimental seizure-like activity and clinical phenotypes. In particular, a group of flies, termed bang-sensitive (bs) mutants have been extensively used to investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms unde

SUBMITTER: Giachello CN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4651905 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature