Drug effects on the EEG of various species of laboratory animals.

The analysis of the results obtained in different tests--sleep studies, cortical and hippocampal EEG activity, PGO-R spikes--in rats or in cats allows the characterization of different classes of drugs and to establish the relative efficacy of psychoactive drugs in these models. Moreover, the sequential spectral analysis of cortical EEG recordings in curarized rats allows the assessment of EEG modifications, of the presence of hypersynchronized rhythms, of the induction and duration of drug action, of topographic drug effects and interactions between different agents. Thus, the use of EEG techniques in various animal species allows a better classification and definition of the central action of drugs.