Introduction
A number of papers have discussed the influence of the reticular formation upon cortical epileptic activity. Most of these papers have dealt with the effect of stimulation of the reticular formation; few have studied the effects of chronic lesions of the brain stem reticular formation upon cortical seizures. Because of the reported effect, usually inhibitory, of the reticular formation on cortical seizure activity, a series of experiments has been carried out on monkeys in which the brain stem reticular formation has been destroyed, unilaterally and bilaterally, in order to study the effect upon induced focal and generalized attacks.
Methods
In 6 monkeys satisfactory experimental preparations have been obtained, but in 1 of these cases anatomical controls are not available, although clinically the animal exhibited the typical syndrome of bilateral reticular lesions (Fig. 1).The monkeys were anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium (Nembutal) administered intravenously, and a trephine hole approximately 1