Midline thalamic neurons show early hypersynchrony during absence seizures in mouse models
Abstract
Generalized seizures reflect a pathological state of sudden, global neuronal hypersynchrony. The mechanisms that support the initiation and maintenance of such synchrony remain unknown. Using simultaneous single-unit and electrocorticographic recordings in two mouse models of absence epilepsy, we evaluated the activity of approximately 2,000 individual neurons across 26 brain structures. By doing so, we resolved the temporal progression of single-neuron activity prior to and during generalized seizures. Surprisingly, we observed that rhythmic, synchronized activity emerges early and gradually in both the thalamus and cortex. Moreover, while we observe that individual neurons across most structures fire rhythmically and synchronously during seizures, a small subset of midline thalamic nuclei display activity that is strongly correlated across multiple regions. Finally, disturbing neuronal activity within the midline thalamus terminates seizures. Thus, our findings collectively highlight the possible role of the midline thalamus in emergence of neuronal hypersynchrony.
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BibTeX
@article{dulko2026midline,
title = {{Midline thalamic neurons show early hypersynchrony during absence seizures in mouse models}},
author = {Elzbieta Dulko and Scott Kilianski and Anna Grace Carns and Arya Rajesh and Isabelle Lesmana and Magdalena Pikus and Mark Beenhakker},
journal = {iScience},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.isci.2026.117673},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2589004226030543},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Midline thalamic neurons show early hypersynchrony during absence seizures in mouse models
AU - Elzbieta Dulko
AU - Scott Kilianski
AU - Anna Grace Carns
AU - Arya Rajesh
AU - Isabelle Lesmana
AU - Magdalena Pikus
AU - Mark Beenhakker
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - iScience
DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2026.117673
UR - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2589004226030543
AB - Generalized seizures reflect a pathological state of sudden, global neuronal hypersynchrony. The mechanisms that support the initiation and maintenance of such synchrony remain unknown. Using simultaneous single-unit and electrocorticographic recordings in two mouse models of absence epilepsy, we evaluated the activity of approximately 2,000 individual neurons across 26 brain structures. By doing so, we resolved the temporal progression of single-neuron activity prior to and during generalized seizures. Surprisingly, we observed that rhythmic, synchronized activity emerges early and gradually in both the thalamus and cortex. Moreover, while we observe that individual neurons across most structures fire rhythmically and synchronously during seizures, a small subset of midline thalamic nuclei display activity that is strongly correlated across multiple regions. Finally, disturbing neuronal activity within the midline thalamus terminates seizures. Thus, our findings collectively highlight the possible role of the midline thalamus in emergence of neuronal hypersynchrony.
SN - 2589-0042
ER -