EXPERIMENTAL CONVULSIONS IN THE RAT

¹ From Merck Institute of Therapeutic Research, Rahway, New Jersey

1. The rat is as satisfactory for the production of experimental convulsions as the rabbit or cat hitherto used for this purpose.

2. Of the three convulsants; picrotoxin, camphor and thujone, the last is the most satisfactory for the study of experimental convulsions, since its convulsant dose is well below its minimum lethal dose and its effects quite rapidly wear off.

3. While the individual response to thujone varies considerably, the percentage of a group of rats responding with convulsions to a fixed dose of thujone is remarkably constant.

4. The convulsive dose of camphor is close to the lethal dose and its duration of action is so prolonged that repeated injections are inadvisable.

5. The dose of picrotoxin necessary to produce pronounced spontaneous convulsions is greater than the minimum lethal dose of this drug.

6. Sodium phenobarbital, sodium bromide or chloretone will decrease or abolish the incidence of thujone convulsions in the rat. This effect persists for from one to several days after the last administration of the drug. Bulbocapnin is without effect on thujone convulsions.