Anticonvulsant effect of unilateral anterior thalamic high frequency electrical stimulation on amygdala-kindled seizures in rat

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an emerging treatment of epilepsy. Anterior nucleus of the thalamus (ANT) is considered to be an attractive target due to its close connection to the limbic structures and wide regions of neocortex. In this study, we examined the effect of unilateral high frequency stimulation (HFS) of the ANT on amygdala-kindled seizures in Wistar rats. When fully-kindled seizures were achieved by daily amygdala kindling, HFS (15 min train of 100 μs pulses at 200 Hz and 450–800 μA) was delivered to the ipsilateral or contralateral ANT immediately before the kindling stimulation for 15 days. HFS of the ipsilateral ANT significantly decreased the incidence of generalized seizures and the mean behavioral seizure stage and afterdischarge duration (ADD), and shortened cumulative ADD and cumulative generalized seizure duration. Furthermore, HFS of the ipsilateral ANT significantly increased the afterdischarge threshold (ADT). Our data suggest that unilateral HFS of the ANT may be an effective method of inhibiting kindled seizures by suppressing the susceptibility to seizures and generating long lasting anti-epileptic effect preventing the recurrence of kindled seizures, providing an alternative to bilateral ANT DBS for refractory epilepsy.

► HFS is emerging as an alternative treatment for refractory epilepsy.
► The study investigates the effects of unilateral HFS of the ANT on amygdala-kindled seizures.
► Unilateral HFS of the ANT can significantly inhibit amygdala-kindled seizures.
► It provided further evidence for clinical use of unilateral HFS of the ANT.