C. Batini et al., BRAIN CHIMERAS IN BIRDS - APPLICATION TO THE STUDY OF A GENETIC FORM OF REFLEX EPILEPSY, Trends in neurosciences, 19(6), 1996, pp. 246-252
A strain of chicken, called here FEpi (for Fayoumi epileptic), bearing
an autosomal recessive mutation, exhibits a form of reflex epilepsy w
ith EEG interictal paroxysmal manifestations and generalized seizures
in response to either light or sound stimulations. By using the brain
chimera technology, we demonstrate here that the epileptic phenotype c
an be partially or totally transferred from an FEpi to a normal chick
by grafting specific regions of the embryonic brain. The mesencephalon
contains the generator of all epileptic manifestations whether they i
nvolve visual or auditory neuronal circuits, with the exception of the
abnormal EEG which is transmitted exclusively by telencephalic grafts
. This analysis supports the hypothesis that certain forms of human an
d mammalian epilepsies have a brainstem origin.