Effects of seizures, kindling, and carbamazepine on sleep organization in cats

We studied the relationships between epilepsy, sleep, and anticonvulsant drugs in kindled cats. No sleep alteration was present at midkindling. When the animals became fully kindled, a reduction in REM sleep percentage and the number of entries into REM sleep were observed compared to baseline. In addition, with further seizures, an increase in the percentage of wakefulness appeared, accompanied by a further reduction in the number of entries into REM sleep. It therefore seems that there is a progressive disruption of sleep, dependent on the increasing number of tonic-clonic generalized seizures. After a seizure-free interval, REM sleep and wakefulness returned to baseline values. A reduction in the percentage of stage II compared to baseline was found and remained as a long-term effect of the kindling process. Acute administration of carbamazepine (CBZ) reduced the REM sleep percentage. This effect, paralleled by a reduction in the number of entries into REM sleep, was evident both at baseline and when the animals were fully kindled. After a large number of seizures, however, CBZ administration did not cause a further reduction in the already low percentage of REM sleep. Results are discussed with reference to previous literature. We propose a hypothesis of competition between seizure and REM sleep in the elimination of epileptogenic and hypnogenic factors.