Effects of acute and subacute antidepressant treatment on kindled seizures in rats

The effects of acute and subacute administration of the tricyclic antidepressants imipramine and amitriptyline, and the atypical antidepressants mianserin and iprindole, on seizures kindled from the amygdala and the cortex were examined. Whereas amitriptyline selectively antagonized seizures kindled from the amygdala after a single dose, neither amitriptyline nor imipramine was any more effective in antagonizing seizures kindled from the amygdala than from the cortex following subacute treatment. Both acute and subacute administration of iprindole failed to significantly alter seizures kindled from either site. Although only the highest acute dose of mianserin tested selectively attenuated amygdaloid seizures, a lower dose that was ineffective when given acutely, was selective when given subacutely. In contrast to an earlier report, the present findings suggest that kindling may not be a particularly useful model for the evaluation of potential antidepressant agents.