PERSISTENT ELEVATION OF CORTICOTROPIN-RELEASING FACTOR AND VASOPRESSIN BUT NOT OXYTOCIN MESSENGER-RNA IN THE RAT AFTER KINDLED SEIZURES

Intractable temporal lobe epilepsy is a disabling disorder with far re aching effects on brain function, behavior and neuroendocrine function . Previous work in the kindled-seizure model for temporal lobe epileps y has shown that these seizures cause vasopressin (VP) release, an inc rease in resting VP and lasting increases in VP mRNA in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) of the hypothalamus. In this study we used in situ hybr idization to examine the effects of kindled seizures on the expression of two other functionally-related, neuroendocrine genes, oxytocin (OT ) and corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF). Comparisons in kindled an d sham-stimulated controls revealed an increase in VP mRNA but not OT mRNA in magnocellular neurons and an increase in CRF mRNA in parvocell ular neurons of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus 1 month after the last seizure. We conclude that kindled seizures indu ce selective changes in neuroendocrine gene expression in neuroendocri ne systems, VP and CRF but not OT. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland L td.