Abstract
Summary
Spinal cord convulsions elicited by direct spinal cord stimulation and maximal electroshock seizures produced by brain stimulation were studied in 14- to 21-day-old chick embryos and in 31-day-old chicks. In spinal cord convulsions, with high frequency stimulation the duration of leg flexion decreased with age. The curves obtained for the duration of leg flexion as a function of frequency were U-shaped in 14- and 16-day-old embryos. The duration of flexion did not change with higher stimulus frequencies in 19- and 21-day-old embryos, and 31-day-old chicks. In maximal electroshock seizures the duration of flexion decreased with age at each stimulus intensity. The decrease in the duration of flexion with age indicates an increase in the severity of convulsion. It is concluded that the particular pattern and intensity of seizure is related to CNS development and may be influenced by the degree of myelination of the neuronal pathways involved in seizure responses.
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