The influence of attending on seizure activity in epileptic monkeys

Six studies are presented on the influence of attending upon epileptic activity in the alumina-gel monkey model of focal motor and secondarily generalized tonic--clonic seizures. Seizure frequency and EEG paroxysms are reported during (a) scheduled feeding periods, (b) visual attending, and (c) three different operant tasks, including the conditioning of single neurons. An explanatory hypothesis of the cumulative data is proposed in terms of the different bursting behavior of group 1 (strongly epileptic) and group 2 (weakly epileptic) neurons of the epileptogenic focus. It is suggested that attending, or participation in operant tasks, results in a decrease in bursting of group 2 neurons and a disruption of synchrony between group 1 (pacemaker), group 2, and normal neurons. This desynchronization is said to lower the probability of an ictal event occurring either during or immediately following an operant task. Attending factors may be responsible for some of the conflicting findings in therapeutic studies of epilepsy which have not controlled for this parameter.