The effect of homoarginine on the EEG of rats.

The effect of homoarginine on electroencephalographic activity in the rat was investigated. Electroencephalograms with epidural electrodes revealed spike discharges after topical application of homoarginine on pia mater. Spike discharges disappeared when homoarginine was removed by washing after spike discharges had begun. The critical concentration to induce spike discharges was in the area of 100 mM. By intracisternal injection of homoarginine, negative spike discharges and positive spike discharges were observed only with unipolar recordings. Our results suggested that the epileptogenic character of homoarginine could be involved in the pathophysiology of the so-called "rum fit" associated with the alcohol withdrawal syndrome.