Effects of phenytoin on cortical excitability in humans
- 1 September 1997
- journal article
- Published by Wolters Kluwer Health in Neurology
- Vol. 49 (3) , 881-883
- https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.49.3.881
Abstract
We studied the effects of a loading dose of phenytoin on motor cortex excitability in five healthy volunteers. Phenytoin elevated motor thresholds to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in all subjects, but had no effects on motor-evoked potential amplitudes, silent period durations, and intracortical excitability tested by paired TMS during rest and voluntary muscle activation. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that blockade of voltage-gated sodium channels decreases membrane excitability and elevates the threshold to TMS, but will not reduce intracortical excitability.Keywords
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