THE MECHANISM OF REALIZATION OF ANTISEIZURE EFFECTS OF CEREBELLAR ELECTRICAL STIMULATION

We have reported that electrical stimulations of cerebellar structures resulted in the heightened antiseizure effectiveness of diazepam against pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)‑kindled seizures. Such effects might be explained by the increased antioxidant mechanisms in the brain tissue, which counterparts oxidative stress, as a fundamental pathogenetic mechanism of chronic epileptic activity. The work aimed to investigate the state of antioxidant defense in the cerebral cortex of PTZ-kindled rats under electrical stimulations (100 Hz, 0,25 ms, 50-100 mcA, 2,5 s) of the paleocerebellar cortex (V-VII lobules). Kindling was produced via three weeks of PTZ administration (35 mg/kg, i.p.), and animals with fully developed generalized seizure fits were included in the observation. Kindled animals were stimulated two times daily, three days starting 24 h after the last kindled seizure fit, and testing PTZ was administered afterward. The net reduction of superoxide dismutase activity – by 40.7% and catalase – by 32.0% in comparison with the control group of animals registered 24 h after the last sham stimulation. Besides, the level of free thiols in the cerebral cortex was ten times greater than in kindled rats (P