Molecular, Genetic, and Biochemical Nutrition Commons^™

Magnesium Deficiency And Excitability In The Rat: An Examination Of Selected Biochemical And Physiological Events Relating Magnesium Status To Behavior, Douglas Robinson Buck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effect of Mg status on the behavior of rats, as determined by nonspecific excitability level and audiogenic seizure susceptibility, was investigated. Also, selected biochemical and neurological mechanisms mediating the chain of events from dietary magnesium deficit to the hyperexcitability symptoms were examined. Weanling rats fed a low magnesium (10 ppm) diet for 14 days had reduced serum, cerebrospinal fluid and brain magnesium concentrations, and increased brain (Na⁺ K⁺) -ATPase activity. They exhibited increased NEL and became highly susceptible to audiogenic seizures. Through dietary manipulation and intraperitoneal and cerebral intraventricular injections, it was possible selectively to alter …