Aims
The limited efficacy and very restricted antiseizure range of current deep brain stimulation (DBS) targets highlight the need to find an optimal target for managing various seizure types. Here, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of DBS on the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) in the different types of experimental epileptic seizures.
Conclusion
These findings demonstrate that VMH-LFS is a broad-spectrum treatment approach for different seizure types by decreasing VMHglu activity.
Methods
The efficacy of DBS was examined in various epileptic seizure models, and the potential mechanisms were investigated by using in vivo calcium signal recording and optogenetics.
Results
The c-fos expression was significantly increased in the glutamatergic neurons of VMH (VMHglu) following seizures. Then, 1-Hz low-frequency stimulation (LFS) at the VMH successfully attenuated the seizure severities across models of epilepsy, including the maximal electroshock, the pentylenetetrazol, the absence seizure, the cortical or hippocampal kainic acid-induced acute seizure, and the hippocampal-kindling models. The in vivo calcium imaging recordings revealed that LFS could inhibit the activities of the VMHglu. Optogenetic inhibition of VMHglu mirrored LFS's antiseizure impact. Further anterograde viral tracing confirmed the extensive distributed projections of VMHglu, which may compose the circuitry basis of the broad-spectral efficacy of LFS.