| Abstract: | ATP, phosphocreatine, glycogen, glucose and lactate levels were measured in the cerebral cortex, thalamus, cerebellum, brain stem and spinal cord of mice following supramaximal electroshock. During the initial 17 s after the onset of a 2 s electrical stimulus high energy phosphate expenditure exceeded formation in all regions but was slower in spinal cord than in the other regions. In cerebral cortex high energy phosphate utilization continued to exceed formation for 32 s which was twice as long as in any other region studied. Altered levels of metabolites recovered most rapidly in spinal cord and least rapidly in cerebral cortex. Pretreatment with a non-anaesthetic dose of phenobarbitone influenced the effect of electroshock. Most of the clinical seizure was prevented, and increased high energy phosphate utilization was sustained for a much shorter period. Only in cerebral cortex did high energy phosphate expenditure exceed formation for as long as 15 s after the electrical stimulus; but even in this region the excess of expenditure over formation was much less than in untreated animals. |
