Effects of grouping and isolation on pinealectomy-induced seizures in rats

This study was undertaken to compare the effects of isolation versus grouping on pinealectomy (Px)-induced seizures in partially-parathyroidectomized (PTx) rats. Isolated rats (one per cage) experienced less than half the number of convulsions as those grouped six per cage. Furthermore, the time to the onset of the first seizure was more than doubled in isolated versus grouped rats. However, despite these differences, the number of rats convulsing per number at risk and the behavioral characteristics of the seizures of both isolated and grouped rats were virtually the same. This study shows that the method of caging dramatically affects certain aspects of Px-induced convulsions in partially-parathyroidectomized rats.