Metabolism regulates neuronal activity and modulates the occurrence of epileptic
seizures. Here, using two rodent models of
absence epilepsy, we show that hypoglycaemia increases the occurrence of spike-wave
seizures. We then show that selectively disrupting glycolysis in the thalamus, a structure implicated in
absence epilepsy, is sufficient to increase spike-wave
seizures. We propose that activation of thalamic
AMP-activated protein kinase, a sensor of cellular energetic stress and potentiator of metabotropic GABAB-receptor function, is a significant driver of hypoglycaemia-induced spike-wave
seizures. We show that
AMP-activated protein kinase augments postsynaptic GABAB-receptor-mediated currents in thalamocortical neurons and strengthens epileptiform network activity evoked in thalamic brain slices. Selective thalamic
AMP-activated protein kinase activation also increases spike-wave
seizures. Finally, systemic administration of
metformin, an
AMP-activated protein kinase agonist and common diabetes treatment, profoundly increased spike-wave
seizures. These results advance the decades-old observation that
glucose metabolism regulates thalamocortical circuit excitability by demonstrating that
AMP-activated protein kinase and GABAB-receptor cooperativity is sufficient to provoke spike-wave
seizures.