Influence of clonazepam on thalamocortical phenomena in rats

The influence of clonazepam on thalamo-cortical phenomena was studied in acute experiments in 20 rats. Early components of cortical responses to electrical stimulation of either LA or VDM thalamic nuclei remained unchanged. Only the latency of the late N2 component was significantly shortened after CZP. CZP did not change the incidence of rhythmic after-discharge ("thalamo-cortical spindles") and tended to prolong them. Two types of self-sustained after-discharges of an epileptic nature which could appear after the end of rhythmic thalamic stimulation were influenced differently: Spike-and-wave type was invariably suppressed, serrated wave type of SSAD was generally unchanged by CZP. This last finding speaks in favour of the hypothesis that these two types of SSADs could serve as models of two different epileptic seizures.