BRAIN CHIMERAS IN BIRDS - APPLICATION TO THE STUDY OF A GENETIC FORM OF REFLEX EPILEPSY

Citation
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
Citations number
38
Categorie Soggetti
Neurosciences,Neurosciences
Journal title
ISSN journal
01662236
Volume
19
Issue
6
Year of publication
1996
Pages
246 - 252
Database
ISI
SICI code
0166-2236(1996)19:6<246:BCIB-A>2.0.ZU;2-H
Abstract
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.