Background

To study the brain, scientists often use “acute slices”—thin sections of brain tissue kept alive in a dish. However, the process of cutting these slices can cause physical stress and chemical “oxidative” damage to the delicate cells.

Research

The researchers found that preparing brain slices causes oxidative damage that selectively kills inhibitory neurons. Losing these “brake” cells makes the remaining brain tissue more likely to produce seizure-like activity and changes how those abnormal signals spread and evolve.

Impact

This study warns scientists that some findings regarding epilepsy or brain “excitability” might be side effects of how the brain slices were made, rather than the disease itself. By identifying this flaw, the research paves the way for better tissue preservation techniques, ensuring that future drug testing and brain studies are more accurate and reliable.

Many anti-seizure medications are first tested on these acute brain slices. If the slices are inherently “broken” or hyper-excitable due to oxidative stress, drug companies might get “false positives” or miss drugs that would actually work in a living brain. Improving the health of these slices ensures that the transition from lab bench to bedside is much more successful and reliable.