[Role of hypoxia in the development of epileptiform seizures]

The article reviews the factors of abiotic and biotic environments liable to provoke convulsions. An assumption is made that the common element of their action on the organism are hypoxic states of varying types and depth. Animals with high individual tolerance of acute hypoxia were found to possess a better resistance to the convulsing effect of penicillin. In these animals the epilepsy-form discharges appear with longer latent periods and the epilepsy-form seizures are generated much more seldom in contrast to rats with poor tolerance of hypoxia. Training of resistless rats in the altitude chamber increases their ability to oppose the convulsing effect of penicillin to the level of animals with moderate but not high hypoxia tolerance.