Calcium-dependent potassium current following penicillin-induced epileptiform discharges in the hippocampal slice

Penicillin-induced paroxysmal depolarization shifts (PDS) are followed by prolonged afterhyperpolarizations of about 2 seconds duration. Intracellular injection of EGTA blocked a late component of the afterhyperpolarizations; an early one lasting up to one second was only slightly reduced by EGTA. It is concluded that afterhyperpolarizations following penicillin-induced PDS comprise different components: an initial one lasting up to one second which is not Ca2+-dependent and a slow one lasting up to two seconds which is caused by a Ca2+-dependent K+ current.