Disturbance of Circulation in Convulsions of the Epileptic Type: Animal Experiments

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Abstract
Summary.: In electrically induced convulsions in the rabbit, initial cardiac inhibition and bradycardia occurs. This can be prevented by atropine and is attributed to vagus stimulation. The rise in arterial blood pressure starts in the later part of the tonic or on the onset of the clonic phase.Curare also prevents the cardiac inhibition, and the blood pressure rises at the beginning of the tonic phase. It is believed that the vagus stimulation is caused by a rise in intra‐cerebral pressure, induced by the rise of the intra‐abdominal and intrathoracic’ pressures during the convulsion, this action being prevented by curarisation.As the rise of blood pressure occurs even in curarized animals, it is not caused by the muscle convulsions.The disturbances of circulation in rabbits induced by electro‐shock differ in various respects from those found during electro‐shock convulsions in man.

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