Copyright © 2000 by Institute of Pharmacology
Polish Academy of Sciences 		Pol. J. Pharmacol., 2000, 52, 63-65
ISSN 1230-6002
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PILOCARPINE-INDUCED SEIZURES IN RODENTS - 17 YEARS ON
 Waldemar A. Turski1,2
 1 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical University, Jaczewskiego 8, PL 20-090 Lublin and
2 Department of Clinical Toxicology, Institute of Agricultural Medicine, Jaczewskiego 2, PL 20-950 Lublin, Poland

Pilocarpine-induced seizures in rodents - 17 years on. W.A. TURSKI. Pol. J. Pharmacol., 2000, 52, 63-65.

In 1983, we reported that intracerebral or systemic administration of cholinergic agents produced seizures and seizure-related brain damage in rodents. During the following 17 years, seizures induced by cholinomimetic drugs became a popular model of epilepsy. Seizures can by produced by cholinergic agonists acting directly at muscarinic receptors or by drugs enhancing cholinergic transmission due to the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity. Status epilepticus evoked by pilocarpine in rodents triggers long-lasting changes which can be described as: (I) acute-onset seizures lasting for several hours, (II) a silent period characterized by normalization of electroencephalographic patterns lasting for days, and (III) spontaneous recurrent seizures lasting for life. Therefore, seizures induced by cholinomimetics in rodents are of value for studies of basic mechanisms of epileptogenesis and action of antiepileptic drugs.

Key words: cholinergic drugs, pilocarpine, seizures
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