Electrical activity of the neocortex in adult rats after prenatal hypoxia and in epilepsy model

Changes in electrical activity of the neocortex after prenatal hypoxia (day 14 of embryogenesis, E14, 7% O2 for 3 h) and intracortical microinjection of epileptogenic 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) were studied in adult (3-month-old) rats. The frequency–time parameters of electrocorticogram (ECoG) were analyzed during sleep and wakefulness as well as in a model of 4-AP-induced spike-wave discharge (SWD) epileptiform activity. The results showed that in rats exposed to prenatal hypoxia the theta rhythm had a lower frequency while sleep spindles displayed a lower spectral power in the low-frequency range as compared to the control group. In rats with prenatal pathology, there was revealed a delayed onset of epileptiform activity and a shifted frequency distribution of the SWD spectral power induced by 4-AP.