INTERRELATIONS OF SLEEP AND FOCAL EPILEPTIFORM DISCHARGE IN MONKEYS WITH ALUMINA CREME LESIONS

Intra cortical alumina creme foci were used to study interrelations of sleep and epileptiform discharge in monkeys. Ten to 200 micro-liter injections produced actively discharging lesions in superior frontal and posterior middle temporal gyri, but no epileptiform activity could be induced in anterior frontal pole, superior temporal gyrus, or occipital areas. Clear differences in discharge density were seen in the active lesions. The temporal foci were maximally active during stage REM while frontal foci were quiescent during stage REM and maximally active during Stages 1 and 2 sleep. Though the number of animals with actively discharging lesions was small, the study does suggest some anatomic specificity of both epileptogenicity and sleep-discharge relations. (Author)