Annotation: Early-life seizures occurring during a critical perinatal developmental window – when brain circuitry is rapidly forming- can lead to disorchestration of brain development and permanently alter neurobehavioral trajectories. Using a rat model of chemically induced recurrent perinatal seizures, we demonstrate lasting disruptions in social communication, emotional regulation, and play behavior. Play behavior represents a focal behavioral trait that is essential for the development of social behavior, cognition, and skill acquisition. Seizure outcomes are both sex-specific and individually variable, mirroring the heterogeneous behavioral phenotypes observed in pediatric patients. In our model, seizures are induced in healthy, naive animals, and the observed behavioral alternations arise even in the absence of perinatal hypoxia, brain injury, stroke, or medication exposure. This indicates that early seizures alone, without any underlying pathologies, can reprogram developing brain circuits and increase vulnerability to later neuropsychiatric and behavioral comorbidities seen in children and adults with a history of early-life seizures.

Contact at IPHYS: Andrea Grígelová, andrea.grigelova@fgu.cas.cz