Ketamine selectively suppresses synchronized afterdischarges in immature hippocampus.

The role of excitatory amino acid neurotransmission in epileptogenesis was investigated in the developing hippocampus. Bath application of ketamine blocked penicillin-induced, synchronized afterdischarges in immature rat CA3 hippocampal neurons. Ketamine also decreased the duration of the preceding intracellularly recorded depolarization shift but had no measurable effect on the resting membrane potential or input impedance of pyramidal cells. Concentrations of ketamine that blocked afterdischarge generation dramatically depressed intracellular depolarizations produced by iontophoretic application of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) but not quisqualate. The effects of the NMDA antagonist 2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid on epileptiform discharges were identical to those of ketamine. These results suggest that an endogenous excitatory amino acid acting on an NMDA receptor plays a key role in the pronounced capacity of immature hippocampus for seizures.