Abstract: Objective: To establish a kind of rat model of recurrent neonatal seizures, and evaluate its morphological and behavioral effects. Methods: The rats in this study were divided into experimental group (n=20) and control group (n=12). Neonatal Wistar rats (n=20) of experimental group were subjected to three times of pilocarpine injections intraperitoneally at postnatal day 1, 4 and 7. Neonatal rats (n=12) of the control group were given saline injection intraperitoneally at the same time. All rats were administered bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) 36 hours before killed to label new born cells. Observe the rats′ behavioral and histological changes at different times. Results： With the increase of seizure number, the mean time to onset and the dosage of pilocarpine decreased, and the manifestations of seizures became intenser. No seizure and death were found in the control group. BrdU-labeled cells decreased significantly in the experimental group comparing with the controls at P7 (P<0.05), while at P52 BrdU-labeled cells increased significantly in the experimental group (P<0.05).　There was no evident neuron loss in both the experimental and the control groups at P7 and P52. Conclusion： The established recurrent seizures model neonatal rat is reliable for investigating the temporary and chronic effects of neonatal seizures.

Key words: Epilepsy, Rat, Wistar, Pilocarpine, Model, animals