Modification of amygdaloid kindling by diazepam in juvenile rats

The amygdaloid kindling phenomenon has been widely used to evaluate and screen potential anticonvulsant compounds in adult rats. In the current study, weanling rats (ages 23-25 days) were implanted chronically with amygdaloid electrodes. They were treated with dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), 0.5 mg/kg diazepam or 1.0 mg/kg diazepam before twice daily kindling stimulations to determine the effect of diazepam on the acquisition of the kindled seizure. Additional juvenile rats implanted as weanlings and simulated twice daily without drug pretreatment until fully kindled were used to test for the acute anticonvulsant effects of diazepam (0.25-4.0 mg/kg). Diazepam was demonstrated to have anticonvulsant properties in juvenile rats by both prolonging the time to develop the fully kindled response during acquisition and by reducing the elicited seizure severity and the length of the afterdischarge in the fully kindled juvenile rats. Together, these data point to the extension of the anticonvulsant profile of diazepam to now include juvenile amygdaloid kindling in rats. They further point to the potential ability of screening proposed anticonvulsant drugs for their efficacy against amygdaloid kindling in immature rats.