ANIMALS MODELS OF EPILEPSY

Abstract

Epilepsies cover a wide range of clinical, behavioral and electrophysiological manifestations and are among the most dynamic diseases in neurology. The classical approach claims that sudden seizures are a characteristic feature of epilepsy, but modern technological equipment has made it possible to establish cyclical signs by directly recording the electrical activity of the brain. The extremely widespread and large economic losses caused by epilepsy, as well as the loss of work capacity and disability of patients, have caused the need for a thorough study of this pathology. Accordingly, a wide range of animal models, i.e., acute and chronic seizure induction protocols, were proposed to study this disease in animals. Epilepsy research has a long history of comparative studies of anatomical structures and physiological parameters in different mammalian species. However, only a relatively limited number of epilepsy models, mostly using rodents, have been disseminated in most experimental studies. In many cases, these animal models were chosen either for convenience or familiarity, but in each individual case it is up to the researcher to choose the final version of the epilepsy model based on technical or experimental rationale. Currently, Danio rerio, a fish of the Cyprinidae family (cyprinids), has been used as an experimental animal. Its brain, which is much simpler in structure and physiology, compared to mammals, allows for significant advantages in experimental research. The work provides an analysis of the current state of the methodology of research of epileptic states on various animal models. Disadvantages and advantages of some of the most common models are considered, and the models are compared.