[Histochemical study of dopamine on rat substantia nigra--ventral tegmental area during status epilepticus]

We studied the amount of dopamine on the substantia nigra-ventral tegmental area during status epilepticus of male Wistar rats induced by coriaria lactone with fluorescence histochemical technique and autoexposuremeter of microscope. The intensity of dopamine fluorescence in the climax epileptic seizure group (10 rats) and postepileptic seizure group (8 rats) decreased significantly as compared with the control (10 rats), but the intensity of dopamine fluorescence in the pre-eileptic seizure group (10 rats) was not significantly different from that of the control group. The result indicated that epileptic seizure induces a decrease of the inhibitory neurotransmitter-dopamine. Therefore dopamine plays an important role in regulating the epileptic seizures.