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Pharmacological and neurochemical aspects of kindling

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Summary

Rats implanted with amygdaloid stimulating and cortical recording electrodes were kindled by daily low-intensity electrical stimulation. In one experiment amino acid concentrations were measured in amygdala, cortex and hippocampus at behavioural stages 1, 2 and 4 (Racine). Control groups consisted of unstimulated rats. Only alanine showed a significant enhancement of concentration in the kindled rats (stage 4 of Racine). In a second experiment, a group of rats was treated daily with 10 mg/kg p.o. of diazepam. Diazepam significantly inhibited kindling and no changes in amino acid concentrations were observed in this group. Increased alanine levels are seen after various seizure types; since pentetrazole, isoniazid andβ-vinyllactic acid seizures were associated with alanine level increases only after and never before seizure occurrence, it is suggested that the alanine increases are a consequence rather than a cause of convulsions. In3H-flunitrazepam binding studies, no change in affinity or receptor number could be demonstrated during kindling.

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This work is part of the thesis ofM. Klein (Strasbourg, 1985).

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Schmutz, M., Klein, M., Klebs, K. et al. Pharmacological and neurochemical aspects of kindling. J. Neural Transmission 63, 143–155 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01252614

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