Kindled seizures: anticonvulsant drugs and agents.

Repeated administration of an initially subconvulsive electrical stimulation results in a progressive intensification of the seizure activity, which is known as a kindling phenomenon. The stability of the kindling model of seizures is particularly useful for evaluation of the action of anticonvulsant drugs. In the present study the action of different substances on kindled seizures is reviewed. In general, there are two groups of substances; 1--classical antiepileptic drugs, which are widely used in treatment of human epilepsy and 2--a group of different kinds of biochemical and pharmacological agents, which have been shown to have an anticonvulsant action. In relation to the first group we present here only a brief review. As to the other group, physiological and pharmacological data are reported in order to explain the mechanisms of the anticonvulsant action.