Altered taste preference and loss of limbic-projecting serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus of chronically epileptic rats

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2016

Authors

Lukoyanov, NV (Author) FMUP

Journal

Title: Behavioural Brain Research

Vol. 297

Pages: 28-36

ISSN: 0166-4328

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 11 Citations

Scopus - 12 Citations

Pubmed / Medline

Scientific classification

FOS: Medical and Health sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00G-Q1R

DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.10.010

Abstract (EN): Mood disorders and major depression are frequently comorbid with epilepsy. While the nature of this comorbidity is not fully understood, multiple lines of evidence suggest that changes in serotonin (5-HT) neurotransmission may be an underlying mechanism. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that chronic epilepsy in rats can be associated with loss of 5-HT neurons in the dorsal raphe (DR) nuclear complex, the main source of 5-HT projections to the cerebral cortex, which would help to explain respective behavioral deficits. Epilepsy was induced using the kainate model of status epilepticus in adult Wistar rats. After a 3-month recovery period, all kainate-treated rats that had experienced status epilepticus showed spontaneous seizures and reduced sucrose preference (anhedonia), a core symptom of depression. No changes in the forced swim test were detected. The total numbers of 5-HT immunoreactive cells were estimated in all DR subdivisions of control and epileptic rats. Interestingly, epilepsy-related loss of 5-HT neurons (approximately 35%) was observed only in the interfascicular part of the DR complex, which is known to innervate brain regions involved in depression. These findings support the notion that mental health impairments observed in epilepsy may be related to loss of a specific population of the DR 5-HT neurons projecting to limbic brain areas.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 9