Anticonvulsant drugs and self-stimulating behavior.

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Abstract
Three experiments tested the hypothesis that seizure activity contributes essentially to reinforcing effects of brain stimulation. Bar-pressing rates reinforced by hypothalamic stimulation were obtained for 12 rats with and without 4 different anticonvulsant drugs; contrary to the hypothesis, Ss showed increased bar-press rates for several hours. Five Ss bar pressing for septal stimulation showed similar increases following phenobarbital. Four Ss pressing for hypothalamic and 2 for septal stimulation were tested under low, medium, and high stimulation intensities; phenobarbital increased response rates at all intensities. In the 2 latter experiments, some Ss had overt seizures when not drugged, but a time allowance for seizures left unaccounted for residual effect of anticonvulsants on response rates.

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