The kindling model of epilepsy is associated with a permanent form of synaptic potentiation, which is considered to be pathological. In this study we used optogenetic fMRI to observe changes in plasticity that occur following a kindling regime. Upon stimulation of the ventral hippocampus, post-kindling fMRI data displayed significantly more widespread activation, particularly in pre-frontal regions compared to pre-kindling acquisitions. Simultaneous LFP measurements were used to confirm the absence of epileptic activity that would confound the interpretation. This represents a powerful technique which can be used for understanding cognitive impairments or understanding the mechanism of anti-epileptogenic therapies.
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