Alzheimers or temporal lobe epilepsy, the pathology in most cases is known to begin from or associate with temporal lobes. Could it mean that high activity dependent plasticity (leading to oxidative stress) at these structures including amygdala and hippocampus makes them more suitable for pathological insult or to be the pathological locus? If so could you please help me find labs working on this or point me the direction to look?
Hi Srinivasa,
Changes in neuronal and network excitability with age may be partially responsible for changes in susceptibility to seizures or epilepsy. The dentate gyrus granule cells are strongly inhibited by different GABAergic interneurons from both the hilus and the molecular layer. When there is a decrease in this inhibition, the detnate gyrus "inhibitory filter" function in the tri-synaptic circuit of hippocampus can trigger recurrent seizures. My PdD lab used to collaborate with Jeff Noebels at Baylor College of Medicine on a genetic model of TLE. Jeff is one of the leading experts on TLE in the world. Look up his lab and papers.
David
Hi Marisol,
I was looking for someone working specifically on activity dependent plasticity in both of these disorders. I didn't know about LC's role in alzheimers, I primarily work in audiogenic seizure field. Thanks for the info, I will go thru the paper you suggested.
Hi David,
Thank you for the info, I will look up the papers from their lab.
Activity-dependent plasticity usually involves a change in synaptic efficacy which often depends on ionotropic receptors, especially NMDA receptors. Alzheimer's disease is often associated with degeneration of the basal cholinergic forebrain. The hippocampus is usually affected as it receives fibres from all the cholinergic nuclei. As the hippocampus is in the temporal lobe, that is probably what you are thinking of when saying that the pathology is often associated with the temporal lobes. However, there is nothing very special about NMDA receptors in the hippocampus vs elsewhere in the brain. The hippocampus (and amygdala) is often implicated in epilepsy, which is probably your other line of thought - these diseases are, however, unrelated. Epileptic patients do not usually suffer from Alzheimer's and vice -versa, nor is the hippocampus always involved in epilepsy nor affected in all forms of Alzheimer's.
- Badges
- Science topic