Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2003 May 15;72(4):472-86.
doi: 10.1002/jnr.10604.

Morphological and electrophysiological characterization of abnormal cell types in pediatric cortical dysplasia

Carlos Cepeda  1 , Raymond S Hurst, Jorge Flores-Hernández, Elizabeth Hernández-Echeagaray, Gloria J Klapstein, Marea K Boylan, Christopher R Calvert, Emily L Jocoy, Oanh K Nguyen, Véronique M André, Harry V Vinters, Marjorie A Ariano, Michael S Levine, Gary W Mathern
Affiliations

Morphological and electrophysiological characterization of abnormal cell types in pediatric cortical dysplasia

Carlos Cepeda et al. J Neurosci Res. .

Abstract

The mechanisms responsible for seizure generation in cortical dysplasia (CD) are unknown, but morphologically abnormal cells could contribute. We examined the passive and active membrane properties of cells from pediatric CD in vitro. Normal- and abnormal-appearing cells were identified morphologically by using infrared videomicroscopy and biocytin in slices from children with mild to severe CD. Electrophysiological properties were assessed with patch clamp recordings. Four groups of abnormal-appearing cells were observed. The first consisted of large, pyramidal cells probably corresponding to cytomegalic neurons. Under conditions that reduced the contribution of K(+) conductances, these cells generated large Ca(2+) currents and influx when depolarized. When these cells were acutely dissociated, peak Ca(2+) currents and densities were greater in cytomegalic compared with normal-appearing pyramidal neurons. The second group included large, nonpyramidal cells with atypical somatodendritic morphology that could correspond to "balloon" cells. These cells did not display active voltage- or ligand-gated currents and did not appear to receive synaptic inputs. The third group included misoriented and dysmorphic pyramidal neurons, and the fourth group consisted of immature-looking pyramidal neurons. Electrophysiologically, neurons in these latter two groups did not display significant abnormalities when compared with normal-appearing pyramidal neurons. We conclude that there are cells with abnormal intrinsic membrane properties in pediatric CD. Among the four groups of cells, the most abnormal electrophysiological properties were displayed by cytomegalic neurons and large cells with atypical morphology. Cytomegalic neurons could play an important role in the generation of epileptic activity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources