Grant: DRA : Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Doctoral Program (CGRS D)

Epilepsy is a serious brain disorder characterized by spontaneous, unprovoked seizures. One of the most common and difficult-to-treat forms is called temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), where seizures begin in a part of the brain important for memory and emotions. These seizures damage brain cells and increase the risk of future seizures, creating a vicious cycle.Current treatments, such as medications or surgery, often fail to fully control seizures in many patients, highlighting the need for new approaches. Recent research suggests that controlling brain circuits linked to seizure activity could be a promising strategy. My project focuses on an important brain region called the supramammillary nucleus (SuM), which connects strongly to the hippocampus, a key site of seizure generation in TLE. A limited number of studies suggest that this pathway may play a role in driving seizure activity, but its exact contribution is still unknown. To study the role of the SuM to seizures in TLE, I will conduct two types of experiments. The first experiments will be performed on mouse brain slices using light-sensitive proteins in combination with electrical recordings of brain cells. This will allow me to activate or silence SuM inputs and directly measure how hippocampal neurons respond under normal and seizure-like conditions. In the second set of experiments, I will induce seizures in freely behaving mice. Implanted optical fibers into the brain will allow me to measure neural activity with fluorescent biosensors (fiber photometry) or manipulate the activity of the SuM-hippocampal circuit using light (optogenetics). These experiments will clarify whether controlling the SuM-hippocampal circuit can influence seizure activity. This research will reveal how the SuM-hippocampal pathway contributes to epilepsy. By understanding this connection, we may discover new strategies to control seizures, offering hope for better therapies for people with drug-resistant epilepsy.