Experimental electroencephalographic study on orotic acid.

Proceeding from the data obtained concerning the effects of orotic acid on excitability processes in CNS and our neuropharmacological investigations, we studied its effects on cerebral bioelectrical activity in acute experiments with "encéphale isolé" and in intact animals with chronically implanted electrodes, at single and 10-day treatment periods in a setting where the spontaneous activity and that evoked by visual and sound stimulation were recorded. At a dose of 100 mg/kg i.v. orotic acid significantly increased the theta wave range and showed a tendency towards increasing the beta waves, preserving, at a somewhat lower level (in comparison with control animals), the reactions to visual and sound stimulation. Comparison with the neuropharmacological studies is good reason to conclude that orotic acid stabilizes the cortical neuronal function; it does not influence the ascendent activating reticular formation, but probably inhibits the descending polysynaptic pathways. It is suggested that besides its metabolic effect orotic acid also has an effect on brain vessels.