Prevention of amygdala kindling with an inhibitor of gamma-aminobutyric acid uptake.

A novel, specific inhibitor of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) uptake, SKF 89976-A (N-[4,4-diphenyl-3-butenyl]-nipecotic acid), was administered daily (15 mg/kg, i.p.) 30 min prior to amygdala stimulation in adult female rats. Whereas control rats developed full kindled seizures after 9.4 +/- 1.2 amygdala stimulations. SKF 89976-A-treated rats had not progressed beyond an early stage of kindled seizures by the termination of drug treatment after 22 episodes of daily amygdala stimulation. Following cessation of SKF 89976-A treatment, full kindled seizures developed after 4.1 +/- 0.9 additional amygdala stimuli. The data suggest that SKF 89976-A can inhibit generalization of amygdala-kindled seizures, possibly by enhancement of central GABAergic activity.