Introduction
THE ANESTHETIC effects of cholesterol,5 steroid hormones,36,47 and of hydroxydione, sodium succinate,12,24 a steroid presumably lacking in biological activity,14 have stimulated wide interest in other central effects of steroid compounds.7,11,20,48Recently,18,19 steroid-induced convulsive activity has been observed in rats, cats, and monkeys after the acute administration of high doses of either 11-desoxy-17-hydroxycorticosterone (Reichstein's compound S) or of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). In this communication, additional observations on the effects (sedation, sleep-like behavior, and a spectrum of seizure activity) of Reichstein's compound S and DHEA are reported.
Materials and Methods
Data were obtained from ten chronically implanted monkeys of both sexes. Of these, four were Cebus (Cebus apella), three Rhesus (Macaca mulatta), and three Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus). Under pentobarbital anesthesia, concentric stainless steel electrodes were implanted stereotaxically into several subcortical loci, and silver ball electrodes were placed in contact with the dura. All electrodes were