Sedation or Seizures as Dose-Dependent Effects of Steroids

Introduction THE ANESTHETIC effects of cholesterol,5steroid hormones,36,47and of hydroxydione, sodium succinate,12,24a steroid presumably lacking in biological activity,14have stimulated wide interest in other central effects of steroid compounds.7,11,20,48 Recently,18,19steroid-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