Local cerebral glucose utilization in the postictal phase of amygdaloid kindled rats

Local cerebral glucose utilization was measured by means of the quantitative autoradiographic 2-[14C]deoxyglucose method during the postictal phase of various seizure stages of amygdaloid kindling in conscious rats. The partially kindled animals exhibited a partial seizure such as chewing and/or head nodding, and the fully kindled animals, a generalized tonic-clonic convulsion. The control animals were implanted with an electrode, but not electrically stimulated. Cerebral glucose utilization of the fully kindled animals was deeply depressed in the postictal phase as compared to the control, and that of the partially kindled animals was moderately decreased. The side-to-side differences of cerebral glucose utilization were observed only in the partially kindled group in which glucose utilization was more depressed on the side of stimulation. Among the structures with depressed glucose utilization, only one structure, the interpeduncular nucleus, showed a relative increase in glucose utilization during the postictal phase of the kindled groups. As the postictal phase has been considered as a period of inhibition, these results may indicate that the neural networks linking the interpeduncular nucleus play an active role in the mechanisms of termination of a seizure and postictal refractoriness.