Atipamezole, a specific alpha(2A) antagonist, suppresses spike-and-wave discharges and alters Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II in the thalamus of genetic absence epilepsy rats

Abstract

Objective The role of alpha(2A) adrenergic receptors (alpha(2A)ARs) in absence epilepsy is not well characterized. Therefore, we investigated the outcomes of the specific antagonism of alpha(2A)ARs on the spike-and-wave discharges (SWDs) in genetic absence epilepsy rats from Strasbourg (GAERSs), together with its influence on the behavior and second messenger systems, which may point to the mechanisms to which a possible SWD modulation can be related.