Reassessing anhedonia in Genetic Absence Epilepsy: Sucrose preference unaltered by spike-wave discharges in WAG/Rij rats

IF 2.3 4区医学 Q3 CLINICAL NEUROLOGY

Epilepsy Research Pub Date : 2025-12-01 Epub Date: 2025-10-11 DOI:10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2025.107683

Maria Pupikina, Evgenia Sitnikova

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Abstract

Anhedonia, characterized by reduced pleasure or interest, is linked to various neurological disorders, including genetic epilepsies. Previous studies in genetic rat models of absence epilepsy, such as WAG/Rij rats, have reported anhedonia-like behaviors. Here, we hypothesize that these behaviors depend on experimental factors rather than epilepsy itself. To test this, we conducted sucrose preference tests in WAG/Rij rats using different concentrations (2 % and 20 %), fasting durations (0 and 23 h), and test lengths (1 and 48 h). Rats underwent non-invasive electroencephalographic examination, which revealed typical 8–10 Hz spike-wave discharges (SWD) and a hallmark of absence epilepsy. In Experiment 1 (2 % sucrose), 59 symptomatic and 31 asymptomatic rats were tested at 6 and 12 months. In Experiment 2 (20 % sucrose), 34 rats were tested at 6 months. Surprisingly, there were no significant differences in sucrose preference or consumption between symptomatic and asymptomatic rats, indicating that absence epilepsy in WAG/Rij rats does not cause anhedonia. After a 23-h fast, female rats showed a lower preference for 20 % sucrose than males, suggesting that fasting conditions might introduce stress and metabolic differences that affect males and females differently. Both the 2 % and 20 % sucrose preference tests showed that symptomatic WAG/Rij rats did not exhibit anhedonia and had similar preferences to asymptomatic rats, regardless of concentration or fasting conditions. These findings challenge previous assumptions and emphasize the importance of considering methodological factors when interpreting rodent behavior.

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重新评估遗传性缺失性癫痫的快感缺乏：WAG/Rij大鼠的糖偏好未因峰波放电而改变。

快感缺乏症的特征是快乐或兴趣降低，与多种神经系统疾病有关，包括遗传性癫痫。先前对缺失性癫痫的遗传大鼠模型的研究，如WAG/Rij大鼠，已经报道了快感缺乏样行为。在这里，我们假设这些行为取决于实验因素而不是癫痫本身。为了验证这一点，我们对WAG/Rij大鼠进行了蔗糖偏好试验，使用不同浓度（2 %和20 %）、禁食时间（0和23 h）和试验长度（1和48 h）。大鼠进行了无创脑电图检查，发现典型的8-10 Hz的峰波放电（SWD）和缺席癫痫的标志。实验1（2 %蔗糖），分别于6个月和12个月对59只有症状大鼠和31只无症状大鼠进行实验。实验2（20 %蔗糖），34只大鼠6月龄。令人惊讶的是，有症状大鼠和无症状大鼠对蔗糖的偏好或消耗没有显著差异，这表明WAG/Rij大鼠的缺乏性癫痫不会引起快感缺乏。禁食23小时后，雌性大鼠对20% %蔗糖的偏好低于雄性，这表明禁食条件可能会引入压力和代谢差异，对雄性和雌性产生不同的影响。2 %和20 %蔗糖偏好试验表明，无论浓度或禁食条件如何，有症状的WAG/Rij大鼠没有表现出缺乏症，并且与无症状大鼠具有相似的偏好。这些发现挑战了先前的假设，并强调了在解释啮齿动物行为时考虑方法因素的重要性。

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来源期刊

Epilepsy Research 医学-临床神经学

CiteScore

0.10

自引率

4.50%

发文量

143

审稿时长

62 days

期刊介绍： Epilepsy Research provides for publication of high quality articles in both basic and clinical epilepsy research, with a special emphasis on translational research that ultimately relates to epilepsy as a human condition. The journal is intended to provide a forum for reporting the best and most rigorous epilepsy research from all disciplines ranging from biophysics and molecular biology to epidemiological and psychosocial research. As such the journal will publish original papers relevant to epilepsy from any scientific discipline and also studies of a multidisciplinary nature. Clinical and experimental research papers adopting fresh conceptual approaches to the study of epilepsy and its treatment are encouraged. The overriding criteria for publication are novelty, significant clinical or experimental relevance, and interest to a multidisciplinary audience in the broad arena of epilepsy. Review articles focused on any topic of epilepsy research will also be considered, but only if they present an exceptionally clear synthesis of current knowledge and future directions of a research area, based on a critical assessment of the available data or on hypotheses that are likely to stimulate more critical thinking and further advances in an area of epilepsy research.