Evidence for the pharmacological relevance of benzodiazepine receptors to anticonvulsant activity.

Each of a series of benzodiazepines was found to be effective in preventing convulsions evoked by intermittent photic stimulation of epileptic chickens. There was a high correlation between the anticonvulsant potencies (mean effective dosages) and the affinity of the agents for the putative benzodiazepine receptor as measured by displacement of [3H]diazepam from binding sites on chicken synaptosomal membranes. This correlation in a genetic model of epilepsy provides further evidence that benzodiazepines exert their anticonvulsant effects by interacting with the benzodiazepine receptor.