Electrographic Spectral Signatures of Animals Submitted to Pentylenetetrazole-Induced Seizures and Treated with Bilateral Asynchronous Non-periodic Stimulation

Non-periodic stimulation (NPS) has been shown to be an alternative to the treatment of epilepsy due to its anticonvulsant power. In this work, we analyzed the effects of NPS in the amygdalae of animals submitted to pentylenetetrazole (PTZ), a convulsant drug. We used the power spectrum density (PSD) to compare the energy bands and spectral signatures of Wistar rats under the effects of NPS, PTZ, and the use of NPS and PTZ together to characterize each of the agents and to be able to understand therapeutic mechanisms of NPS. All the animals underwent a surgical procedure for implantation of bipolar stimulation electrodes in both amygdalae and of monopolar recording electrodes in thalamus, hippocampus, and cortex. On the experiment day, NPS was applied in the amygdalae of animals in NPS and PTZ + NPS groups. In the PTZ and PTZ + NPS group, animals received a bolus injecion of PTZ (20 mg/Kg). After the experiment, energy bands for the electrophysiologic data were analyzed with Fourier transform performed in a bin with 15 min. Results showed that the spectrum of the PTZ group is deformed to lose energy at lower frequencies ( 100 Hz) when compared with the control group. Animals submitted to PTZ + NPS has a spectral signature with less changes, indicating that NPS acts in a way that forces the PTZ-changed spectrum back to its normal state. Moreover, NPS did not show any effect in the activity of a healthy brain.