Summary
The effect of 20 min of intermittent foot shock on spontaneous activity and overt behavior was studied in mice. In addition, the effect of a pain-induced conditioned emotional response, and of total body immobilization and postural disequilibrium on the pentylenetetrazol seizure threshold was determined. Foot shock decreased spontaneous motor activity, and induced responses characterized by immobility, crouching, and increased defecation. The pain-induced conditioned emotional response, total body immobilization, and postural disequilibrium all lowered seizure threshold. Data are presented which indicate that there is a direct relation between the reduction in seizure threshold and the intensity of the disturbed emotional state. In addition, it is suggested that the observed increase in brain excitability caused by apprehension and anxiety may result from the effect of endogenouslyreleased catecholamines on the central nervous system. Reference is made to the relation between these findings and the effect of emotional disturbances on seizure frequency in human epileptics.
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This investigation was supported by a research grant (NB-00381) from the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Public Health Service.
University of Utah Research Fellow, 1959–1960.
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Swinyard, E.A., Miyahara, J.T., Clark, L.D. et al. The effect of experimentally-induced stress on pentylenetetrazol seizure threshold in mice. Psychopharmacologia 4, 343–353 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00405245
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00405245