Corticotropin-releasing factor induction in rat piriform cortex following kainate-elicited seizures.

There is a substantial increase in number of cells labeled for corticotropin-releasing factor-like immunoreactivity in specific extrahypothalamic brain regions, particularly the piriform cortex, in rats allowed to survive 24 h following generalized clonic seizures. Seizures were elicited by kainic acid. Vehicle treated control animals had only a few cells labeled for corticotropin-releasing factor-like immunoreactivity at these brain sites. These areas of corticotropin-releasing factor-like induction appear to be localized to brain regions known to be vulnerable to kainate neurotoxicity and cell destruction.