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THE PHARMACOLOGICAL EFFECT OF VALPROIC ACID, LEVETIRACETAM, CARBAMAZEPINE AND THE COADMINISTRATION OF VALPROIC ACID – LEVETIRACETAM AND CARBAMAZEPINE – LEVETIRACETAM ON TACTILE SENSITIVITY, MOTOR ACTIVITY AND THE FORMATION OF CONDITIONED REFLEX IN RATS

DAN A. ANDONIE ^1#, OANA CRISTINA ȘEREMET ^2#*, EMIL ȘTEFĂNESCU ^2#, ANCA ZANFIRESCU ^2#, ALEXANDRA GROSAN ^1#, BIANCA E. OSZ ^1#, MARIA T. DOGARU ^1#

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the motor behaviour, tactile pain sensitivity, and learning behaviour of animals treated with two classic anticonvulsants: carbamazepine and valproic acid, as well as their association with levetiracetam. The motor activity was determined with Activity Cage (Ugo Basile, Italy), the tactile sensitivity was assessed using two tests: von Frey and Dynamic Plantar Aesthesiometer (Ugo Basile, Italy), whereas the conditional reflex formation was determined with the Conditioned Place Preference (Ugo Basile, Italy). The horizontal and vertical motor activity of animals treated with valproic acid and carbamazepine presented a statistically significant drop at all times of the assay, while the combination of levetiracetam potentiated the motor depressant effect of the two active substances. Following the tactile sensitivity assessment, it was observed that the reduction of this parameter was maximal for the combination of carbamazepine/levetiracetam. The conditioning parameters were influenced differently by levetiracetam treatment, thus: the latency of the animals’ migration into the room opposite the conditioning chamber increased significantly, as did the number of received full electric shocks. Further research will be conducted to define the pharmacological profile of levetiracetam in combination with other classic anticonvulsants.