Long-lasting effects of electroconvulsive shock on the pattern of poly(A)-RNA synthesis in rabbit cerebral cortex

The pattern of poly(A)-associated [poly(A)+] RNA synthesis was studied in rabbit cerebral cortex in the period following a single electroconvulsive shock (ECS). Labeled uridine was injected into the brain 2 and 4 hr after ECS and the animals sacrificed 1 hr later. Total and poly(A)+ RNA were then prepared from cortical nuclei and microsomes and analyzed. The amounts of newly synthesized total and poly(A)+ RNA in nuclei and microsomes appeared to be close to the control. However, the pattern of newly synthesized poly(A)+ nuclear RNA appeared to be still displaced toward the high molecular weights as it was in the early post-ECS period. The result indicates a long-lasting disturbance of brain poly(A)+-RNA metabolism by ECS.