A rapid kindling paradigm used to examine hippocampal neuroplasticity

The authors report the development of a stimulation paradigm designed to induce the kindled state in a significantly shorter time frame than the traditional kindling model of epilepsy. This paradigm was used to examine kindling in prenatally protein malnourished adult rats. Electrical stimulations of 5-s duration were applied to the perforant pathway every 5 min for 1 h over 5 days. Behavioral manifestations of seizure were scored on a five-point scale. The rapid kindling paradigm described provides a means of examining the development of kindled seizures in a significantly shorter period of time, but with comparable behavioral and electrophysiological outcome, than the traditional kindling paradigm