Effect of amygdaloid kindling on thyrotropin-releasing hormone, somatostatin, cholecystokinin and substance P contents of the amygdala/piriform cortex and hippocampus of rats

Recently, several systems of neuropeptides have been demonstrated to have anticonvulsant action in some forms of epilepsy to some extent. However, considerably less knowledge has been taken to their involvement in convulsive disorders either with regard to the development, expression or control of seizures. In this study, therefore, we examined the influence of amygdaloid kindling, an experimental model of temporal lobe epilepsy, on thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), somatostatin (SS), cholecystokinin (CCK) and substance P (SP) content in the amygdala/piriform cortex and hippocampus. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were implanted bipolar electrodes into the left amygdala under pentobarbital anesthesia. Daily kindling stimulation was made to the left amygdala with 1 sec, 60 Hz, 400 microA, until 5 consecutive fully kindled generalized convulsive seizures were elicited. Subsequently, amygdaloid kindled rats were decapitated 30 min, 24 hrs, 48 hrs, 7 days and 21 days after the last amygdaloid stimulation, and the amygdala/piriform cortex and hippocampus were dissected. Control animals only received chronic electrodes, but no stimulation was delivered. The immunoreactivity of TRH, SS, CCK and SP was examined by methods of specific radioimmunoassay. The TRH content in these two brain regions significantly increased 24 hrs after the last kindled convulsion. This increase became maximal 48 hrs after the last convulsion: about 3-fold and 4-fold of the control in the amygdala/piriform cortex and hippocampus, respectively. Such increases in the TRH content tended to persist for 7 days, but returned to the control level 21 days after the last convulsion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)