Kainic Acid-Induced Seizure Model
Objective: To induce convulsive seizure activity in mice using kainic acid administration and assess neurobiological responses including dendritic morphology, cell proliferation, and spatial learning
This is a Kainic Acid-Induced Seizure Model protocol using mouse as the model organism. The procedure involves 4 procedural steps, 2 equipment items, 4 materials. Extracted from a 2006 paper published in BMC Neuroscience.
Model and subjects
mouse • C57BL/6 and C57BL/6J • female • 6 weeks old at start • 19-24 g • 18
Study window
~1 week study window | ~2 minutes hands-on
Core workflow
Kainic acid administration • BrdU injection protocol • Running wheel housing
Primary readouts
- Continuous convulsive seizure activity observation
- Dendritic morphology
- Cell proliferation (BrdU incorporation)
- Spatial relationship between DCX-positive cells and astrocytes
Key equipment and reagents
Use this page as an execution guide, then fall back to the source paper whenever you need exact exclusions, dosing details, or assay-specific caveats.
Confirm first
- Verify the animal model, intervention setup, and collection timepoints against the source paper.
- Check that every direct vendor link matches the exact specification your lab plans to run.
Use the page like this
- Work through the protocol steps in order and use the inline vendor chips only when you need to source or verify an item.
- Jump to Experimental Context for readouts, data shape, and analysis flow before planning downstream analysis.
Protocol Steps
Start here. The step list is optimized for running the experiment, with direct vendor links available inline when you need to source a cited item.
Kainic acid administration
Administer single intraperitoneal injection of kainic acid to seizure group animals
Note: Only animals displaying continuous convulsive seizure activity were used in subsequent experiments
View evidence from paper
“Seizure animals received a single intraperitoneal application of 30 mg/kg kainic acid (KA, Sigma) in 0.1 M phosphate buffered saline (PBS) on the day before BrdU-injections (Day 0), and only those displaying continuous convulsive seizure activity were used”
BrdU injection protocol
Administer daily BrdU injections to all experimental groups for 7 consecutive days
View evidence from paper
“During the first 7 days of the experiment all animals received one daily injection of BrdU”
Running wheel housing
House runner group animals with running wheels for voluntary activity
Note: 2-3 animals per cage with running wheel
View evidence from paper
“The 'Runner' group was housed with 2–3 animals per cage that was equipped with a running wheel”
Morris water maze training
Conduct spatial learning and memory testing using Morris water maze
Note: Both hidden and cued versions used; protocol devised by Wolfer and Lipp
View evidence from paper
“Animals were subjected to water maze training at days 5 to 8 of the experiment. Six trials of training each maximally lasting for 2 minutes were given each day”