Scientists from the Department of Developmental Epileptology has long-term deal with the particularities of epileptic seizures, their origin, termination and potential influence in the immature brain.
One of the natural defence mechanisms of the mature brain is postictal refractoriness, i.e. it is impossible to induce another seizure immediately after the epileptic seizure has ended. This phenomenon, which occurs only after birth, is probably an expression of the persistent activity of the inhibitory systems that terminated the seizure. Pharmacological analysis has shown that multiple mediator systems are involved in postictal refractoriness after cortical epileptic seizures. We found that the most important inhibitory mediator, gamma-aminobutyric acid, is involved in this phenomenon by acting on the less abundant GABA B receptors, but not on the most abundant GABA A receptors.
Mareš, P., Kubová, H.: GABA-B, not GABA-A receptors play a role in cortical postictal refractoriness. Neuropharmacology 88: 99-102, 2015
