Kindling-induced changes in EEG recorded during stimulation from the site of stimulation. III. Direct pharmacological manipulations of the kindled amygdala.

In our previous studies, we hypothesized that activation and subsequent collapse of GABA-mediated inhibition during tetanus is an important seizure-triggering mechanism in the kindled epileptogenic focus. To examine this hypothesis, in the present study, we investigated the effects of pharmacological manipulations of the kindled amygdala with several drugs, and measured the kindled seizures as well as the EEG events during tetanus. The results obtained were: (i) The selective GABA-A agonist, muscimol (1 and 5 nM/1 microliter), suppressed kindled seizures in a dose-dependent fashion, and the 5 nM muscimol significantly prolonged EEG suppression and reduced the number of oscillations in the subsequent rhythmic synchronous discharge. Similar effects followed systemic injection of diazepam (2 mg/kg). (ii) The selective GABA-B agonist, baclofen (5 nM), had no effect on kindled seizures nor on the EEG events during tetanus. (iii) The NMDA antagonist, 2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (80 nM), significantly reduced the afterdischarge duration and significantly delayed the appearance of the rhythmic synchronous discharge. However, these effects were not observed immediately, but 24 to 72 h after microinjection. (iv) The muscarinic cholinergic antagonist, atropine (40 and 80 nM), suppressed kindled seizures in a dose-dependent fashion, but the atropine caused marked synchronous discharge both in the awake resting EEG and during tetanic stimulation. We conclude that the GABA-A system, including the benzodiazepine system, is more involved in the seizure-triggering mechanism of amygdala kindling than the GABA-B system, that there is an interaction between the GABA-A and NMDA system, and that the cholinergic participation is independent of the primary seizure-triggering mechanisms.