Effect of phenytoin on the human neuronal activity and depth event-related potential in emotional task

Neuronal activity and depth ERP were recorded from cortical areas and subcortical nuclei of three patients with diagnostic and/or therapeutic intracerebral electrodes while they were performing emotional task before and after phenytoin administration. Phenytoin acted as a bioelectrical modulator, in some cases increasing and in some cases decreasing the mean background neuronal firing level. In some few cases the more specific task-related effect of phenytoin was found as an inversion of the inhibitory response into the excitatory one in trials evoking negative emotions.