Effect of Mesencephalic Lesions on the Cortical Electroconvulsant Threshold

Abstract
The threshold for eeg. seizures in response to electric shock was detd. in cats both before and after section of the brain stem. At the time of stimulation the animals were unanesthetized. Movement was controlled by section of the cord at C1. Brief hypersynchronous responses were obtained in all animals with stimuli in the range of 5 - 7.5 milliamperes (ma). With lesions below the intercollicular level stimuli of 10 - 20 ma resulted in sustained hypersynchronous activity. Following intercollicular section stimuli as great as 100 ma yielded only brief episodes of hyper synchrony similar to those obtained with 5 - 7.5 ma prior to section. Destruction of the hypothalamus and partial destruction of the thalamus in the presence of an intact midbrain did not alter the seizure threshold. Unilateral lesions of the midbrain seemed to result in some differences both in the resting and seizure patterns of the 2 sides.

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