RECURRENT SEIZURES IN IMMATURE RATS - EFFECT ON AUDITORY AND VISUAL-DISCRIMINATION

The effect of recurrent seizures in developing rats on subsequent long -term behavior was studied. Fifteen day old rats received a convulsant dosage of flurothyl three times daily for five consecutive days. When the rats were fully mature, they underwent behavioral testing using t he water maze and auditory quality or location discrimination. With se rial flurothyl administration seizure duration increased progressively but latency to seizure onset did not change. Compared to controls, fl urothyl-treated rats had impaired performance in the water maze and on auditory location, but not on quality discrimination. Histological ex amination showed no gross cell loss in the hippocampus. This study dem onstrates that serial seizures in the developing brain cause detriment al effects on visual and auditory spatial learning.