Skip to main content

H. H. Jasper: Modern Concepts of Epilepsy

  • Chapter
Book cover Neurotransmitters and Cortical Function

Abstract

In any generation of scientists, a few become recognized as leaders in their field. Such leadership is often difficult to define, yet appears universally acknowledged. To include the name of Herbert H. Jasper among the neurobiologists so designated seems most natural. Not only has he served as a scientific role model for numerous neuroscientists now as eminent as himself but, in addition, many of his studies represent basic contributions to our understanding of brain function. These studies have covered subjects ranging from the single synapse, the electrophysiology of the isolated neuron and assemblies of neurons, to the electrophysiology and pharmacology of the neurotransmitter systems (Jasper, 1975). However, no matter how lofty the ideals of basic research may be, to incorporate such research into the everyday practice of clinical medicine, and to improve the treatment and the quality of life of neurological patients, must be even more satisfying.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Akimoto, H., 1982, Epilepsy—East and West, in: Advances in Epileptology: XIIIth Epilepsy International Symposium (H. Akimoto, H. Kazamatsuri, M. Seino, and A. Ward, eds.), pp. 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen, I. C., Grieve, A., and Griffiths, R., 1986, Differential changes in the content of amino acid neurotransmitters in discrete regions of the rat brain prior to the onset and during the course of homocysteine-induced seizures, J. Neurochem. 46:1582–1592.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ando, M., and Nagata, Y., 1986, Stimulation of amino acid uptake and Na+, K+-ATPase activity by norepinephrine in superior cervical sympathetic ganglia excised from adult rat, J. Neurochem. 46:1487–1492.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beaudet, A., and Descarries, L., 1984, Fine structure of monoamine axon terminals in cerebral cortex, in: Monoamine Innervation of Cerebral Cortex (L. Descarries, T. A. Reader, and H. H. Jasper, eds.), Liss, New York, pp. 77–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger, H., 1933, Uber das Elektrenkephalogramm des Menschen, Arch. Psychiatr. 100:301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berl, S., 1965, Compartmentation of glutamic acid metabolism in developing cerebral cortex, J. Biol. Chem. 240:2047–2054.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Berl, S., Takagaki, G., and Purpura, D. P., 1961, Metabolic and pharmacological effects of injected amino acids and ammonia on cortical epileptogenic lesions, J. Neurochem. 7:198–209.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brière, R., Sherwin, A. L., Robitaille, Y., Olivier, A., Quesney, L. F., and Reader, T. A., 1986, Alpha-1 adrenoceptors are decreased in human epileptic foci, Anal. Neurol. 19:26–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, A. G., Meldrum, B. S., and Siesjö, B. K., 1977, Cerebral metabolic changes during prolonged epileptic seizures in rats, J. Neurochem. 28:1025–1035.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chauvel, P., Trottier, S., Nassif, S., and Dedek, J., 1982, Une altération des afférences noradrénergiques est-elle en cause dans les epilepsies focales? Rev. Electroencephalogr. Neurophysiol. Clin. 12:1–7.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cloninger, C. R., Rice, J., Reich, T., and McGuffin, P., 1982, Genetic analysis of seizure disorders as multidimensional threshold characters, in: Genetic Basis of the Epilepsies (V. E. Anderson, W. A. Hauser, J. K. Penry, and C. F. Sing, eds.), Raven Press, New York, pp. 291–309.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drejer, J., Benveniste, H., Diemer, N. H., and Schousboe, A., 1985, Cellular origin of ischemia-induced glutamate release from brain tissue in vivo and in vitro, J. Neurochem. 45:145–151.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dodd, P. R., Bradford, H. F., Abdul-Ghani, A. S., Cox. D. W. G., and Continho-Netto, J., 1980, Release of amino acids from chronic epileptic and subepileptic foci in vivo, Brain Res. 193:505–517.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, K. A. C., 1965, Gamma-aminobutyric acid and other inhibitory substances, Br. Med. Bull. 21:70–75.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, K. A. C., and Jasper, H. H., 1959, Gamma-aminobutyric acid, Physiol. Rev. 39:383–406.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Erecinska, M., Troeger, M. B., and Alston, T. A., 1986, Amino acid neurotransmitters in the CNS: Properties of diaminobutyric acid transport, J. Neurochem. 46:1452–1457.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fariello, R. G., Golden, G. T., and Pisa, M., 1982, Homotaurine (3 aminopropanesulfonic acid; 3 APS) protects from the convulsant and cytotoxic effect of systemically administered kainic acid, Neurology 32:241–245.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fromm, G. H., Terrence, C. F., and Chattha, A. S., 1985, Differential effect of antiepileptic and non-epileptic drugs on the reticular formation, Lfe. Sci. 35:2665–2673.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gadeleta, M. N., Renis, M., Minervini, G. R., Serra, I., Bleve, T., Giovine, A., Zacheo, G., and Giuffrida, A. M., 1985, Effect of hypothyroidism on the biogenesis of free mitochondria in the cerebral hemispheres and in cerebellum of rat during development, Neurochem. Res. 10:163–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gloor, P., Metrakos, J., Metrakos, K., Andermann, E., and van Gelder, N. M., 1982, Neurophysiological, genetic and biochemical nature of the epileptic diathesis, in: Henri Gastaut and the Marseilles School’s Contribution to the Neurosciences, EEG Suppl. No. 35 (R. J. Broughton, ed.), Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 45–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, B., 1986, The complementarity of science and magic before the scientific revolution, Am. Sci. 74:128–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iwama, K., and Jasper, H. H., 1957, The action of gamma aminobutyric acid upon cortical electrical activity in the cat, J. Physiol. (London) 138:365–380.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jasper, H. H., 1961, General summary of “Basic Mechanisms of the Epileptic Discharge”, Epilepsia 2:91–99.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jasper, H. H., 1965, Pathophysiological studies of brain mechanisms in different states of consciousness, in: Brain and Conscious Experience (J. E. Eccles, ed.), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 256–282.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jasper, H. H., 1969, Mechanisms of propagation: Extracellular studies, in: Basic Mechanisms of the Epilepsies (H. H. Jasper, A. A. Ward, and A. Pope, eds.), Little, Brown, Boston, pp. 421–438.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jasper, H. H., 1975, Philosophy or physics—Mind or molecules, in: The Neurosciences: Paths of Discovery (F. G. Worden, J. P. Swazey, and G. Adelman, eds.), MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., pp. 403–422.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jasper, H. H., and Carmichael, L., 1935, Electrical potentials from the intact human brain. Science 89:51–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jasper, H. H., Khan, R. T., and Elliott, K. A. C., 1965, Amino acids released from the cerebral cortex in relation to its state of activation, Science 147:1448–1449.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kato, S., Higashida, H., Higuchi, Y., Hatabenaka, S., and Negishi, K., 1984, Sensitive and insensitive states of cultured glioma cells to glutamate damage, Brain Res. 303:365–373.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koyama, I., and Jasper, H. H., 1977, Amino acid content of chronic undercut cortex of the cat in relation to electrical after discharge: Comparison with cobalt epileptogenic lesions, Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 55:523–536.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kravitz, E. A., Potter, D. D., and van Gelder, N. M., 1962, Gamma-aminobutyric acid distribution in the lobster nervous system: CNS, peripheral nerves and isolated motor and inhibitory axons, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 7:231–236.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Krespan, B., Berl, S., and Nicklas, W. J., 1982, Alteration in neuronal-glial metabolism of glutamate by the neurotoxin kainic acid, J. Neurochem. 38:509–518.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kuffler, S. W., and Edwards, C, 1958, Mechanism of gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) action and its relation to synaptic inhibition, J. Neurophysiol. 21:586–616.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, C. J., and Dubois, R., 1972, Effects of neonatal infection, perinatal malnutrition, and crowding on catecholamine metabolism, J. Exp. Med. 136:1031–1042.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Léjohn, H. B., Jackson, S. G., Klassen. G. R., and Sawula, R. V., 1969, Regulation of mitochondrial glutamic dehydrogenase by divalent metals, nucleotides, and alpha-ketoglutarate, J. Biol. Chem. 244:5346–5356.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Madtes, P., 1984, Chloride ions preferentially mask high-affinity GABA binding sites, J. Neurochem. 43:1434–1437.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mathewson, A. J., and Berry, M., 1985, Observations on the astrocyte response to cerebral stab wound in adult rat, Brain Res. 327:61–69.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maynert, E. W., Marczynski, T. J., and Browning, R. A., 1975, The role of neurotransmitters in the epilepsies, Adv. Neurol. 13:79–147.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meldrum, B. S., 1983, Pharmacological considerations in the search for new anticonvulsant drugs, in: Recent Advances in Epilepsy (T. A. Pedley and B. S. Meldrum, eds.), Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, pp. 75–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melville, I. D., 1974, The medical treatment of epilepsy: A historical review, in: Historical Aspects of the Neurosciences (F. C. Rose and W. F. Byrum, eds.), Raven Press, New York, pp. 127–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nadler, J. V., Wang, A., and Werling, L. L., 1985, Binding sites for L-[3H]glutamate on hippocampal synaptic membranes: Three populations differentially affected by chloride and calcium ions, J. Neurochem. 44:1791–1798.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nicklas, W. J., Berl, S., and Clarke, D. D., 1975, Relationship between amino acid and catecholamine metabolism in brain, in: Metabolic Compartmentation and Neurotransmission: Relation to Brain Structure and Function (S. Berl, D. D. Clark, and D. Schneider, eds.), Plenum Press, New York, pp. 497–513.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papanicolaou, J., Sumers, R. J., Vajda, F. J. E., and Louis, W. J., 1982, The relationship between alpha-2 adrenoceptor selectivity and anticonvulsant effect in a series of clonidine-like drugs, Brain Res. 241:393–397.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pappius, H. M., and Elliott, K. A. C., 1956, Water distribution in incubated slices of brain and other tissue, Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 34:1007–1022.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Patel, A. J., and Hunt, A., 1985, Concentration of free amino acids in primary cultures of neurons and astrocytes, J. Neurochem. 44:1816–1821.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Penfield, W., 1975, The Mystery of the Mind, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., pp. 1–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phelps, M. E., and Mazziotta, J. C., 1985. Positron emission tomography: Human brain function and biochemistry, Science 228:799–809.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, I. J., and Merritt, H. H., 1937, Experimental determination of anticonvulsant properties of some phenyl derivatives, Science 85:525.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ramirez, G., Barat, A., Gomez-Barriocanal, J., Manrique, E., and Batuecas, A., 1983, Development of specific binding sites for [3H]kainic acid and [3H]mucimol in the chick optic tectum: Modulation by early changes in visual input, in: CNS Receptors—From Molecular Pharmacology to Behavior (P. Mandel and F. V. DeFeudis, eds.), Raven Press, New York, pp. 187–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reader, T. A., and Jasper, H. H., 1984, Interactions between monoamines and other transmitters in cerebral cortex, in: Monoamine Innervation of Cerebral Cortex (L. Descarries, T. A. Reader, and H. H. Jasper, eds.), Liss, New York, pp. 195–225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ribak, C. E., Bradburne, R. M., and Harris, A. B., 1982, A preferential loss of GABAergic, symmetric synapses in epileptic foci: A quantitative ultrastructural analysis of monkey neocortex, J. Neurol. Sci. 2:1725–1735.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, E., Rothstein, M., and Baxter, C. F., 1958, Some metabolic studies of gamma-aminobutyric acid, Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 97:796–802.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartzkroin, P. A., 1983, Local circuit considerations and intrinsic neuronal properties involved in hyperex-citability and cell synchronization, in: Basic Mechanisms of Neuronal Hyperexcitability (H.H. Jasper and N. M. van Gelder, eds.), Liss, New York, pp. 75–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherwin, A. L., and van Gelder, N. M., 1986, Amino acid and catecholamine markers of metabolic abnormalities in human focal epilepsy, in: Basic Mechanisms of the Epilepsies (A. V. Delgado-Escueta, A. A. Ward, D. M. Woodbury, and A. J. Porter, eds.), Raven Press, New York, pp. 1011–1033.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherwin, A., Quesney, F., Gauthier, S., Olivier, A., Robitaille, Y., McQuaid, P., Harvey, C, and van Gelder, N. M., 1984, Enzyme changes in actively spiking areas of human epileptic cerebral cortex, Neurology 34:927–933.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sloan, N., and Jasper, H. H., 1950, The identity of spreading depression and “suppression”, Electroencephalogr. Clin. Neurophysiol. 2:59–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takano, T., Kancko, Y., Kumashiro, H., Sugai, N., and Oosaki, T., 1984, Kainate seizure and carbonic anhydrase (CAH) reaction in the hippocampal structures, Neuroscience 10:309–312.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Temkin, O. (ed.), 1971, The Falling Sickness, Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, pp. 3–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thoemke, F., and Huether, G., 1984, Breeding rats on amino acid imbalanced diets for three consecutive generations affects the concentrations of putative amino acid transmitters in developing brain, Int. J. Dev. Neurosci. 2:567–574.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tower, D. B., 1957, Glutamic acid and gamma-aminobutyric acid in seizures, Clin. Chim. Acta 2:397–402.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tursky, T., Lassanova, M., Sramka, M., and Nadvornik, P., 1976, Formation of glutamate and GABA in epileptogenic tissue from human hippocampus in vitro, Acta Neurochir. Suppl. 23:111–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Gelder, N. M., 1981, The role of taurine and glutamic acid in the epileptic process: A genetic predisposition, Rev. Pure Appl. Pharmacol. Sci. 2:293–316.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van Gelder, N. M., 1978, Taurine, the compartmentalized metabolism of glutamic acid, and the epilepsies, Can. J. Physiol. Pharm. 56:362–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Gelder, N. M., and Courtois, A., 1972, Close correlation between changing content of specific amino acids in epileptic cortex of cats, and severity of epilepsy, Brain Res. 43:477–484.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van Gelder, N. M., Siatitsas, I., Menini, C, and Gloor, P., 1983, Feline generalized penicillin epilepsy: Changes of glutamic acid and taurine parallel the progressive increase in excitability of the cortex, Epilepsia 24:200–213.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, A. A., 1972, Mechanisms of neuronal hyperexcitability, Electroencephalogr. Clin. Neurophysiol. Suppl. 31:75–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woodbury, D. M., and Esplin, D. W., 1959, Neuropharmacology and neurochemistry of anticonvulsant drugs, in: The Effect of Pharmacological Agents on the Nervous System (F. J. Braceland, ed.), Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, pp. 24–56.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1988 Plenum Press, New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

van Gelder, N.M. (1988). H. H. Jasper: Modern Concepts of Epilepsy. In: Avoli, M., Reader, T.A., Dykes, R.W., Gloor, P. (eds) Neurotransmitters and Cortical Function. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0925-3_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0925-3_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8248-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0925-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics