AGE-RELATED AND SEIZURE-RELATED CHANGES IN NORADRENALINE AND DOPAMINE IN SEVERAL BRAIN-REGIONS OF EPILEPTIC EL MICE

Noradrenaline (NA) and dopamine (DA) levels in six brain regions of stimulated and nonstimulated El (El[s] and El[ns]) mice and their maternal ddY mice were determined at various ages and various times after a convulsion. The NA levels in the striatum and hippocampus of 12-week-old El[s] and El[ns] mice were lower than in ddY mice, and remained lower in 23-week-old El[s] mice, but not in El[ns] mice. DA levels were lower in the striatum of El[s] mice than in El[ns] and ddY mice at 16 and 23 weeks of age. NA levels decreased during seizure in the striatum and hippocampus of El[s] mice, and returned to preconvulsive levels 1 hr after convulsion in the striatum and 30 min in the hippocampus. DA levels in the striatum of El[s] mice decreased during convulsion and increased from 1 to 10 min after convulsion. These changes suggest that the NAergic systems in the striatum and hippocampus and the DAergic system in the striatum have important roles in relation to seizure susceptibility in El mice.