HIGH-FREQUENCY STIMULATION OF THE SUB-THALAMIC NUCLEUS SUPPRESSES ABSENCE SEIZURES IN THE RAT - COMPARISON WITH NEUROTOXIC LESIONS

High-frequency electrical stimulation of deep brain structures has rec ently been developed for the surgical approach of neurologic disorders . Applied to the thalamus in tremors or to the subthalamic nucleus in Parkinson's disease, high-frequency stimulation has been demonstrated to exert a local inhibiting influence, leading to symptoms alleviation . In the present study, bilateral high-frequency stimulations (130 Hz) of the subthalamic nuclei suppressed ongoing spontaneous absence seiz ures in rats. This effect was dissociated from motor side-effects and appears specific to the subthalamic nucleus. Bilateral excitotoxic les ions of the subthalamic nuclei only partially suppressed absence-seizu res. These results confirm the involvement of the basal ganglia system in the control of generalized seizures and suggest that high-frequenc y stimulations could be used in the treatment of some forms of seizure s. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.