Hyperthermia-Induced Seizures in the Rat Pup: A Model for Febrile Convulsions in Children

Seizures were produced in rat pups by ambient hyperthermia. Seizure threshold temperatures, measured rectally and intracerebrally, increased between 2 and 10 days of age. Electrocortical paroxysmal discharges were confirmed in hyperthermic 6- and 10-day-old pups. The increasing resistance to hyperthermic seizures with maturation and the electroencephalographic changes induced by hyperthermia are similar to those in young children.