Measurement of Cortical Neurotransmitter Receptors with Radioligand Binding: Insights into the Mechanisms of Kindling-Induced Epilepsy

Understanding the pathophysiology of partial epilepsy in molecular terms will likely facilitate the development of new and more effective therapies. One approach is to analyze the mechanisms underlying the hyperexcitability in an animal model in the hope that analogous mechanisms are operative in some forms of the human condition. This thinking led the authors to embark on studies of the kindling model of epilepsy in the late 1970s. This chapter describes the kindling model; outlines the rationale for use of radioligand binding as a tool; considers the advantages and disadvantages of this approach; summarizes the findings of a host of such studies in the kindling model; and reviews a few of these findings as a means of illustrating the value of such approaches.