title: Sucrose ingestion decreases seizure onset time in female rats treated with lithium and pilocarpine.
abstract: To extend previous work concerning diet and overt seizures in rats, we tested the hypothesis that ingestion of 10% sucrose-water could reduce seizure onset time (SOT) in rats given lithium and pilocarpine. We found that female but not male rats given free access to a 10% sucrose-water solution for 3 weeks exhibited shorter SOTs than age- and sex-matched control subjects. A separate experiment determined that SOT was significantly reduced whether female rats were provided 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks of free access to sucrose. Moreover, the daily volume of sucrose ingested was significantly correlated (r=-0.42) with SOT regardless of the duration of sucrose treatment (in weeks). These findings suggest that a diet supplemented with sugar can facilitate the emergence of behavioral seizures in female rats given lithium and pilocarpine. We discuss the potential role of dopamine in mediating the sucrose-induced changes in SOT.
authors.affiliation: Behavioural Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Biology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, Canada P3E 2C6. magalic@ucalgary.ca
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Galic
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Persinger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D008094:Lithium / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D018721:Muscarinic Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010862:Pilocarpine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D012640:Seizures / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013395:Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013549:Sweetening Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018721:Muscarinic Agonists; D013549:Sweetening Agents; D010862:Pilocarpine; D013395:Sucrose; D008094:Lithium