Abstract

Postinjury epilepsy is an potentially preventable sequela in as many as 20% of patients with brain insults. For these cases biomarkers of epileptogenesis are critical to facilitate identification of patients at high-risk of developing epilepsy and to introduce effective anti-epileptogenic interventions. Here, we demonstrate that delayed brain–heart coincidences serve as a reliable biomarker. In a murine model of post-infection acquired epilepsy, we used long-term simultaneous measurements of the brain activity via electroencephalography and autonomic cardiac activity via electrocardiography, in male mice, to quantitatively track brain–heart interactions during epileptogenesis. We find that abnormal cortical discharges precede abnormal fluctuations in the cardiac rhythm at the resolution of single beat-to-beat intervals. The delayed brain–heart coincidence is detectable as early as the onset of chronic measurements, 2–14 weeks before the first seizure, only in animals that become epileptic, and increases during epileptogenesis. Therefore, delayed brain– heart coincidence serves as a biomarker of epileptogenesis and could be used for phenotyping, diagnostic, and therapeutic purposes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)8473-8483
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Neuroscience
Volume38
Issue number39
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 26 2018

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Neuroscience

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