Synergism of hyperoxia and high helium pressures in the causation of convulsions.

Hyperoxia beyond 1.8 ATA results in a striking reduction of high-pressure neurological syndrome (HPNS) type I convulsion threshold pressures but is without measurable effect on type II convulsions. The synergism is partially or completely reversed by increasing alveolar or tissue CO2 levels. High total pressures (PI) result in striking reductions in the duration of hyperoxic exposure preceding seizure onset (tc). The interaction of hyperoxia and high pressure gives rise to three zones on the PO2-Pt plane. In zone I, Pt less than 30 ATA, the duration of hyperoxia prior to convulsion onset is given by the equation PO2 -- PO2 lim = K/(tc -- tc lim), where PO2 lim and tc lim both decrease with increasing total pressure. Zone II, Pt = 30-50 ATA and PO2 1.8-2.3 ATA, is characterized by a sharp drop in tc, as Pt is increased beyond 30 ATA, to a value near 15 min that is constant within the PO2 limits given. In zone III, Pt greater than 50 ATA and PO2 greater than 0.2 ATA, tc is of the order of 2 min, and the seizures are essentially HPNS seizures only slightly modified by hyperoxia. The data are interpreted as suggesting that zone I represents hyperoxic seizures facilitated by high pressures, whereas zone II represents HPNS type I seizures facilitated by hyperoxia.