While the consumption of caffeine and cocoa has been associated with a variety of health benefits to humans, some authors have proposed that excessive caffeine intake may increase the frequency of epileptic seizures in humans and reduce the efficiency of antiepileptic drugs. Little is known, however, about the proconvulsant potential of the sustained, excessive intake of cocoa on hippocampal neural circuits. Using the mouse as an experimental model, we examined the effects of the chronic consumption of food enriched in cocoa-based dark chocolate on motor and mood-related behaviours as well as on the excitability properties of hippocampal neurons. Cocoa food enrichment did not affect body weights or mood-related behaviours but rather promoted general locomotion and improved motor coordination. However, ex vivo electrophysiological analysis revealed a significant enhancement in seizure-like population spike bursting at the neurogenic dentate gyrus, which was paralleled by a significant reduction in the levels of GABA-α1 receptors thus suggesting that an excessive dietary intake of cocoa-enriched food might alter some of the synaptic elements involved in epileptogenesis. These data invite further multidisciplinary research aiming to elucidate the potential deleterious effects of chocolate abuse on behaviour and brain hyperexcitability.

中文翻译：

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持续食用基于可可的黑巧克力可增强小鼠海马的癫痫样发作

虽然摄入咖啡因和可可粉对人类具有多种健康益处，但一些作者提出，摄入过量咖啡因可能会增加人类癫痫发作的频率并降低抗癫痫药的功效。然而，关于海马神经回路持续，过量摄入可可的惊厥潜能知之甚少。使用小鼠作为实验模型，我们检查了长期食用富含可可黑巧克力的食物对运动和情绪相关行为以及海马神经元兴奋性的影响。可可食物的富集并没有影响体重或与情绪有关的行为，而是促进了整体运动和改善了运动协调性。然而，离体电生理分析显示，神经源性齿状回的癫痫样人群突增明显增强，与此同时，GABA-α1受体水平显着降低，因此表明饮食中过量摄入可可粉食物可能会改变一些食物。参与癫痫发生的突触元件。这些数据吸引了进一步的多学科研究，旨在阐明滥用巧克力对行为和大脑过度兴奋的潜在有害影响。