Effects of valproate on seizure-like activity in with a knockdown of in different neuronal populations as a model of Angelman Syndrome.

Angelman Syndrome is a rare, genetically induced neurodevelopmental disorder. This disorder stems from a mutation or deletion of the maternal gene. Characteristics of this disease include developmental delay, recurring seizures, and severe intellectual disabilities. We studied seizure activity in male with a knockdown of in different neuronal populations (GABAergic, glutamatergic, mushroom body, and all neurons) and investigated the effects of the antiseizure medication (ASM) on seizure-like activity. Epileptiform activity was monitored in individual fruit flies using imaging chambers and mechanically induced seizures using a vortex assay. A positive control was also used: ( seizure phenotype). Seizure activity was analyzed for sums of seizure durations, number of seizures, and total time to return to normal activity.  knockdowns in GABAergic neurons elicited more seizure-like episodes than knockdowns in glutamatergic neurons and were on par with the positive control group and those with knockdowns in the mushroom bodies. We have established a method whereby valproate could be administered through food rather than through injections to effectively treat epileptiform activity. We demonstrated that if is not knocked down pan-neuronally, Angelman Syndrome seizure-like activity can be studied using and therefore allows for high-throughput drug discovery.