| Poster |
Elizabeth Glenn
Appalachian State University
Subject Listing - Psychology
Advisor: Dr. Mark Zrull
Thursday, Poster Session 1, Presentation Kiosk 30 B, Health & Fitness Center
JUVENILE AUDIOGENIC SEIZURES AFFECT LOCATION EXPLORATION AND PREFERENCE
In a rat model of generalized epilepsy, sound-induced or audiogenic seizures (AGS) spread abnormal excitation from auditory and motor seizure-inducing brain areas to parts of the brain, including the lateral amygdala (LAMG), which are involved in location exploration and preference. It was hypothesized that the spreading excitation would affect LAMG function and alter exploratory behavior of locations. Three groups of Long-Evans rats, one primed for AGS on postnatal day 18 (pnd 18) by exposure to loud tone pips (120 dB, 10 kHz, 8/s for 8 min) and 2 control groups not primed for seizures were used in the experiment. The primed rats (SAGS, n=6) had AGSs induced using loud (120 dB) noise once every 3 days between pnds 35 and 62. One control group was exposed to the seizure-inducing noise (SCON, n=6), and the other unprimed controls (NCON, n=5) never experienced the seizure-inducing stimulus. As adults, the rats were placed in a 1-m x 1-m (10 x 10 squares) open field containing 2 identical coffee cups at specific locations for 3 min (Trial 1). After a 1 hour delay, Trial 2 (3 min) was conducted with one of the coffee cups moved to a new location. SAGS rats spent 76.3% and 69.1% less time exploring cup locations than control groups on Trials 1 and 2, respectively (p<0.02). In addition, SAGS rats spent a greater proportion of time at the one constant cup location on Trials 1 and 2 (0.86 and 0.60) than SCON and NCON control rats (0.59 and 0.46). The behavioral results suggest juvenile seizures affect location exploration and preference, even when animals are accustomed to an area to be explored (Trial 2). As generalized seizures like those exhibited by SAGS rats occur, changes in behavior controlled by brain areas (e.g., LAMG) beyond seizure-producing areas can and do occur as evidenced by the altered behavior in this experiment.
Advisor: Dr. Mark Zrull, Associate Professor, Psychology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC