Phenytoin and carbamazepine delay the initial depression of the population spike upon exposure to in vitro ischemia and promote its post-ischemic functional recovery in rat hippocampal slices.

Antiepileptic drugs have been shown to reduce the severity of neurodegeneration resulting from stroke or brain injury. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of the antiepileptic drugs phenytoin and carbamazepine on the time course of changes in the population spike (PS) during brief oxygen/glucose deprivation (OGD) in the CA1 pyramidal region of rat hippocampal slices in vitro. After introducing simulated ischemia by OGD, the PS was initially inhibited, followed by transient recovery and subsequent reinhibition again concomitantly with disappearance of the presynaptic volley (PV).