Anxiolytic effects of rapid amygdala kindling, and the influence of early life experience in rats

Abstract

The incidence of psychiatric disturbances is elevated in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients. Early life stressful events are believed to have a major impact on mental health later in life, and increasing evidence suggests that such stresses may also promote a vulnerability to TLE. This study investigated whether subjecting rats to early life stress exacerbated mood and cognitive disturbances associated with the development of epilepsy. On postnatal days 2-14, rat pups were separated from their dams for either 180 min/day (handling and maternal separation - HMS180, modelling early life stress) or 15 min/day (control handling and maternal separation - HMS15). At 7 weeks, rats were implanted..