Abolition of electrically induced cortical seizures by stereotactic thalamic lesions. Evidence for descending thalamopontine medullar spinal connections in the centrencephalic epileptic system of the cat.

In experiments on the mechanism of epilepsy in normal adult cats, seizure patterns were established by electrical cortical and subcortical stimulation. Repeated cortical stimulation after bilateral coagulation of the lateral posterior thalamic nucleus resulted in a marked reduction in seizures, including complete abolishment of seizures in some animals. Histologic studies of the lateral posterior thalamic nucleus showed degeneration to the ventral anterior thalamic nucleus, the H zone of Forel, the mesencephalic-pontine reticular formations, the trigeminal motor nucleus, the lateral vestibular nucleus, and the intermediate horn of the entire spinal cord. This establishes a role for the lateral posterior thalamic nucleus in the centrencephalic system for all components of a typical epileptic attack.