Vet World   Vol.18   October-2025  Article - 10 

Experimental models of epilepsy: A comprehensive review of mechanisms, translational relevance, and future directions

Background and Aim: Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures, affecting millions worldwide. Experimental models play a crucial role in understanding the pathophysiology of seizures and in developing novel antiepileptic therapies. This review summarizes the major experimental models of epilepsy, including chemically induced, electrically induced, and genetic approaches. The strengths, limitations, and translational relevance of each model are discussed with particular emphasis on their applicability to human epilepsy subtypes, such as generalized tonic–clonic and temporal lobe epilepsy. Advances in neuroimaging, omics technologies, and artificial intelligence-based analytics are highlighted for their potential to enhance model accuracy and predictive validity. Ethical considerations, including the principles of replacement, reduc­tion, and refinement, are also emphasized. By integrating classical models with emerging technologies, this review pro­vides a comprehensive framework to guide future research aimed at improving therapeutic strategies and bridging the gap between pre-clinical and clinical epilepsy research.

Keywords: animal models, antiepileptic drugs, electroencephalography, epilepsy, kainic acid, kindling, pentylenetetrazol, pilocarpine, translational research.

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How to cite this article: Jiji PJ, Rai R, Kumar NA, Blossom V, Pai MM, Rai AR, Rajanigandha V, and Nayak SD (2025) Experimental models of epilepsy: A comprehensive review of mechanisms, translational relevance, and future directions, Veterinary World, 18(10): 3041-3050.

Received: 11-06-2025   Accepted: 10-09-2025   Published online: 14-10-2025

Corresponding author: Nayanatara Arun Kumar    E-mail: nayanatara.arun@manipal.edu

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.3041-3050

Copyright: Jiji, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.