Audiogenic Seizures and Sensitivity to Peripheral Shock

Abstract

Few studies deal with audiogenic seizures as an independent variable and their resulting effects on bodily processes or behavior. The available reports indicate that audiogenic seizures result in increased emotionality (Bevan, 1955) and decrements in retention of both maze performance (Shaw, Utechr, & Fullanger, 1953; Srainbrook, 1948), and brightness discrimination (Shohl, 1951). These reports concluded that poor rerenrion of learned material following audiogenic seizures was a function of interference from an emorional upset or temporary metabolic disturbance and did not represent deficirs in cognitive function. Griffiths (1961) reported that seizure susceptible rats showed facilitation in learning a shuttle box response in contrast to seizure resistanc animals. The fact that the conditioned stimulus in rhe shuttle box situation was the same audirory srimulus used ro produce audiogenic seizures suggests that these susceptible animals may have had a lower threshold ro sensory stimulation. This interpretation of Griffiths' data may be supported by the fact that in ocher learning tasks wirhour auditory stimuli no differences in learning ability were found between seizure susceptible and seizure resisrant animals. This investigation was designed to explore further the effects of audiogenic seizure susceptibility on a measure of sensory sensitivity in which the animal's emotional responses could be observed. Specifically, this investigation undertook to determine whether an animal prone to audiogenic seizures has altered sensitivity to peripheral grid shock.