They are called "Kainin-sou" or "Makuri" in Japan, and are used as an anthelmintic. Pharmacological activity Kainic acid is utilised in primary neuronal cell cultures and in the acute brain slice preparation to study the physiological effect of excitotoxicity and assess the neuroprotective capabilities of potential therapeutics. Kainic acid is a potent central nervous system excitant that is used in epilepsy research to induce seizures in experimental animals, at a typical dose of 10–30 mg/kg in mice. In addition to inducing seizures, kainic acid is excitotoxic and epileptogenic. Kainic acid induces seizures via activation of kainate receptors containing the GluK2 subunit and also through activation of AMPA receptors, for which it serves as a partial agonist. Also, infusion with kainic acid in the hippocampus of animals results in major damage of pyramidal neurons and subsequent seizure activity. Supply shortages beginning in 2000 have caused the cost of kainic acid to rise significantly. Applications antiworming agent neuroscience research neurodegenerative agent modeling of epilepsy modeling of Alzheimer's disease See also Dihydrokainic acid Domoic acid Kainate receptor References External links Kainate Receptors Amino acids Pyrrolidines Convulsants Marine neurotoxins Kainate receptor agonists Chelating agents Toxic amino acids Dicarboxylic acids Excitotoxins Isopropenyl compounds