The effect of pulse duration of refractory periods of neurons mediating brain-stimulation reward.

The post-stimulation excitability characteristics of neurons mediating the rewarding effects of electrical stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle were behaviorally assessed at 5 different pulse durations. Recovery from refractoriness was inferred from the results of double-pulse tests in which the interval between conditioning (C) and test (T) pulses of equal amplitude was varied. Pulses of 0.1-0.5 ms had little effect on the time course of recovery which ranged from 0.4 to about 1.5 ms in each animal. In some subjects, however, complete recovery from refractoriness was significantly delayed with 1- and 2-ms pulses, with as much as a tripling in the C-T interval at which recovery approached asymptotic levels. This effect appeared to be placement-specific and was well correlated with the threshold charge, which ranged from 0.5 to 1.3 microC. The highest charge values were obtained in those subjects in which longer pulses displaced the refractory period profile towards a slower recovery; the electrode tips in this group were located in more anterior positions than those subjects in which pulse duration had no effect on recovery from refractoriness. It appears that at some placements slowly recovering elements can contribute to the circuitry underlying brain-stimulation reward when suitable stimulation parameters are employed.