MOLECULAR-BASIS OF NEURONAL BIORHYTHMS AND PAROXYSMS

The molecular basis of-the biorhythms are evoked in relation to cerebr al EEG rhythms and paroxysms. Basic oscillatory phenomena have been we ll shown and modeled in systems such as the glycolytic pathway, the os cillations of cAMP in amoebas and rhythms of the intracellular cycline during mitosis. In excitable cells the intracellular calcium and cAMP oscillations exhibit a signalling system with many advantages. Thus t he question arises: to what extent can the EEG paroxysms observed in e pileptic syndrome be due to disturbances in such basic molecular pathw ays that underlie intracellular molecular oscillations? The usefulness of the absence-rat-model and the implication the T type Ca2+-channel of the thalamic nuclei in the pathophysiology of this epileptic syndro me are discussed.