[Paroxysmal discharges in children (author's transl)]

The temporal organisation of infra-clinical paroxysmal discharges was recorded in waking children using biotelemetry. This was studied in terms of two hypotheses: firstly regulation of discharges by an "internal clock" which would explain their periodic modulation; secondly the influence of certain induced or spontaneous psychophysiological situation which could increase or decrease their density. By statistical analysis using semi-automatic programmes, the density of paroxysmal discharges was studied for each experimental situation; the chronological evolution of density was also worked out. These programmes were applied to 6 long biotelemetric recordings. The results obtained show that neither of the hypotheses alone can explain the phenomena observed, and that the paroxysmal discharges probably occur at times determined by a combination of internal factors and multiple situations: modulation linked to more or less stable biological rhythms, and the role of the environment and the subjects' reactions, which intervene to a varying extent to mask natural rhythms.