The effect of pentylenetetrazol kindling on the somatostatin cell population in the rat hippocampus

Abstract

The kindling model of epilepsy in animals has become a widely used tool in the study of convulsive mechanisms. A recent interest in the role of somatostatin (SS) in epileptic brains has produced a small body of literature, but few insights into the function of SS in seizures. Two experiments utilizing a chemical model of kindling were used. Experiment 1 using a high dose of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) (30mg/kg) and experiment 2 using a subseizure dose of PTZ (20mg/kg). Behavioral results of experiment 1 showed an increase in seizure sensitivity over the 2 month course of the study but failed immunostaining confounded any anatomical localization of SS. Behavioral results of experiment 2 yielded no significant difference between control and experimental animals but showed both qualitative differences and a decreased number of SS cells in the experimental group. The results of these studies make few predictions about the role of SS in seizure activity or in the kindling model of epilepsy and it is painfully obvious that more work needs to be done in this realm.