Time-domain features of epileptic spikes as potential bio-markers of the epileptogenesis process

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures which affects about 1% people worldwide. During the past decades, some mechanisms involved in ictogenesis (generation of seizures) have been identified and, to some extent, partially understood. However, regarding epileptogenesis (process by which a neuronal system becomes epileptic), underlying mechanisms remain elusive. This difficulty is mostly related to the fact that epileptogenesis can only be addressed using experimental models. In this study, we have analyzed the shape of a specific electrophysiological pattern, referred to as “epileptic spike”, encountered during the epileptogenesis process in an in vivo model of temporal lobe epilepsy (mouse, kainate). Results show that the features of these transient events (duration and amplitude) change as a function of time as the brain evolves towards the chronic epileptic state characterized by the appearance of spontaneous seizures. Using a detailed computational model of the hippocampus (CA1 sub-field), an interpretation of observed modifications is provided, in relationship with possible alterations that take place in underlying neuronal circuits.