Thresholds for Electro- and Chemoconvulsions in Mice after Termination of Treatment with Phenobarbital

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Abstract
Mice were treated for periods of 4, 7 or 14 days with phenobarbital in the drinking water, the concentrations were so chosen as to permit the construction of an anticonvulsant dose-effect relationship in the maximal electroshock seizure test and in the pentetrazole seizure threshold test. The thresholds for electro convulsion or the clonic and tonic components of the pentetrazole convulsion were determined immediately after withdrawal of phenobarbital and 24, 48 and 72 h later. The electroconvulsive threshold fell to values significantly lower than the threshold in untreated controls at 24 h, but had recovered to control values after 48 h. The pentetrazole thresholds, too, showed a highly significant decrease below control values at 24 h, but even after 48 and 72 h, they were significantly lowered in some instances. During the 3 days following phenobarbital withdrawal, a weight loss of 1–2 g per mouse occurred. The coincidence of hyperexcitability and weight loss points to the development of physical dependence to the drug.

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