Control of epileptiform activity with electric stimulation

The effect of electric fields on epileptic tissue in the rat hippocampus was investigated to determine the feasibility of blocking abnormal neuronal firing. Anodic currents applied extracellularly to the CA1 region via a monopolar electrode showed a large effect on the epileptiform activity indicated by the reduction of 90% or more in the amplitude of the population spikes. Intracellular recordings showed that the repetitive action potentials characteristic of epileptiform activity were abolished sequentially starting from the last one under increasing field strengths. Transmembrane potentials induced by the electric fields were also monitored and were observed to increase with the level of excitation of the neurons