Shouse M N, Ryan W
Exp Neurol. 1984 Oct;86(1):18-32. doi: 10.1016/0014-4886(84)90063-3.
Kindling is traditionally viewed as a chronic, focal epilepsy model which consistently induces complex partial seizures from limbic structures in animals. This study revealed that primary or exceedingly rapid secondary generalized seizures could also be kindled when stimulation was applied to the lateral geniculate nucleus, a thalamic region involved in sleep regulation and possibly also photosensitive epilepsy. Two experiments were conducted in cats. Experiment 1 compared the development of generalized tonic-clonic convulsions and associated sleep disorders following electrical stimulation of the lateral geniculate nucleus (N = 4) and the amygdala (N = 4). Experiment 2 described the effects of intermittent light stimulation on seizure thresholds in both groups. Three primary findings distinguished the epileptogenic process in those two brain regions. First, generalized electroencephalographic and clinical seizures accompanied the first afterdischarge obtained with thalamic stimulation. In contrast, focal seizures with secondary generalization appeared during a 3- to 4-week period of afterdischarge elicitations from the amygdala. Second, amygdala-kindled cats showed fewer sleep spindles during slow-wave sleep whereas cats kindled in the lateral geniculate nucleus had abnormal sleep spindles approaching spike wave-like activity. Third, only the latter cats showed reduced seizure thresholds in response to photic stimulation. Based on the anatomic substrates involved, the clinical and electrographic profiles observed during kindling and the type of sleep disturbance shown, we concluded that lateral geniculate nucleus kindling may represent primary generalized epilepsy, possibly of a photosensitive nature; alternatively, the rapid propagation of abnormal discharge was also consistent with the important role of the thalamus in secondary seizure generalization.
传统上，点燃被视为一种慢性局灶性癫痫模型，它能持续诱发动物边缘结构的复杂部分性发作。本研究表明，当刺激外侧膝状体（丘脑的一个区域，参与睡眠调节，可能还与光敏性癫痫有关）时，也可引发原发性或极其快速的继发性全身性发作。在猫身上进行了两项实验。实验1比较了电刺激外侧膝状体（N = 4）和杏仁核（N = 4）后全身性强直阵挛性惊厥的发展及相关睡眠障碍。实验2描述了间歇性光刺激对两组癫痫发作阈值的影响。有三个主要发现区分了这两个脑区的致痫过程。首先，丘脑刺激引发的首次放电后出现全身性脑电图和临床发作。相比之下，杏仁核放电引发3至4周后出现伴有继发性全身性发作的局灶性发作。其次，杏仁核点燃的猫在慢波睡眠期间睡眠纺锤波较少，而外侧膝状体点燃的猫有接近棘波样活动的异常睡眠纺锤波。第三，只有后一组猫对光刺激的癫痫发作阈值降低。基于所涉及的解剖学基础、点燃过程中观察到的临床和脑电图特征以及所表现出的睡眠障碍类型，我们得出结论，外侧膝状体点燃可能代表原发性全身性癫痫，可能具有光敏性；或者，异常放电的快速传播也与丘脑在继发性癫痫全身性发作中的重要作用一致。
