AMYGDALA-KINDLED CONVULSIONS IN SUSPENDED RATS

Amygdala-kindled Long-Evans rats were suspended in a harness-with all four feet off the ground-and their convulsions were triggered, videota ped, and scored. In the suspended subjects, it was found that kindled convulsions involve the hindlimbs as well as the forelimbs and that th ey involve tonus as well as clonus. These data contradict the commonly held view that kindled convulsions consist only of face and forelimb clonus. They suggest that kindled convulsions resemble the generalized , whole-body convulsions observed in the maximal electroshock model an d other ''maximal'' seizure models. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.