Glucocorticoids and development of audiogenic seizure susceptibility in DBA/1Bg mice

Effect of adrenalectomy on sound-induced seizure susceptibility and intensity in genetically susceptible rats

Neither seizures susceptibility nor intensity was altered by sham-operation or by adrenalectomy in adult rats that are genetically susceptible to sound-induced seizures. Thus, sound-induced seizures in genetically susceptible rats are analogous to those in genetically susceptible mice to the extent that removal of the adrenal glands does not alter established seizure characteristics in either species.

Pharmacogenetic differences in audiogenic seizure priming of C57BL/6Bg and DBA/1Bg-asr mice

Susceptibility to audiogenic seizures can be induced in some strains of resistant mice by exposure to an initial auditory stimulus (acoustic priming). Aminooxyacetic acid, hydrazine, glutamic acid, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), cycloheximide, and metyrapone antagonize the acoustic priming of audiogenic seizure susceptibility in C57BL/6Bg mice, whereas only metyrapone attenuates that of DBA/1Bg-asr mice. The strain difference in the effect of AOAA and cycloheximide is correlated with a small, transient fall in level of brain GABA in C57BL/6Bg but not DBA41Bg-asr mice. These findings support our hypothesis that there are at least two neural mechanisms of acoustic priming, each with its own genetic basis and that corticosteroids are required by both mechanisms for the development of primed seizures.