Evolution of wet dog shakes during kindling in rats: comparison between hippocampal and amygdala kindling.

The occurrence of wet dog shakes (WDS) was studied during hippocampal kindling and amygdala kindling. Many WDS were observed after the first stimulation of the dorsal and ventral hippocampus. Their number rapidly increased to a maximal value (after five to six stimulations) and then progressively decreased during the development of hippocampal kindling. Their distribution during the afterdischarge (AD) was impaired by kindling. During amygdala kindling, WDS were observed only when the ADs attained a total duration of at least 50 s. In this case too, the repetition of stimulations was concomitant with a progressive decrease in the number of WDS. We suggest that the regression of the number of WDS may be considered as an additional criterion of the fully kindled state.