Predisposed Susceptibility in Primate Epileptogenesis and Anti-Epileptogenesis.

While kindling emphasizes a progressive process underlying partial-onset epilepsy, recognition of its variation, not only regarding ontogenesis and phylogenesis but also regarding the role of predisposition, will expand its clinical relevance. Nearly 70 years ago, Watanabe1 showed that electrically induced generalized convulsions in dogs led to pathological changes similar to the Ammon's horn sclerosis found in the brain of patients with epilepsy. In his paper he described a remarkable individual variation in susceptibility, not only for development of the pathology but also for spontaneous seizures and status epilepticus. Variation of kindling results among five primate species, i.e., photosensitive Papio papio (Pp, Senegal) and Papio cynocephalus (Pc, Ethiopia); non-photosensitive Papio hamadryas (Ph, Kenya), Macaca fuscata (Mf, Japan) and Macaca mulatta (Mm, India), have been reviewed from a similar perspective. The technical protocol including once-a-day kindling stimulation was identical in all the species. Since the amygdala (AM) was the only brain site where all five species were kindled, this discussion will be largely, if not completely, centered on AM kindling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]