Neurotransmitter Supply and Demand in Epilepsy

Abstract

Recurrent epileptiform activity occurs spontaneously in cultured CNS neurons and in brain slices in which-aminobutyric acid (GABA) inhibition has been blocked. We demonstrate here that pharmacologic treatments, resulting in either the block of glutamine production by astrocytes or the inhibition of glutamine uptake by neu-rons, suppress or markedly decrease the frequency of spontaneous epileptiform discharges both in primary hippocampal cultures and in disinhibited hippocampal slices. These data point to an important role for the neuron-astrocyte metabolic interaction in sustaining episodes of intense rhythmic activity in the CNS, and thereby reveal a new potential target for antiepileptic treatments.