Glutamate says fire, GABA says settle down · Week 5
A healthy brain is busy but not synchronized. A seizure is a burst of hypersynchronous firing, when every instrument blasts the same note. Tip the balance below, pick a seizure kind, and watch the trace and the clock.
Live brain trace
Four leads: two over the left side, two over the right. Normal chatter is small and ragged. Hypersynchronous firing is tall and lined up.
Move the balance to begin.
Where the firing is
Looking down on the brain. The glow shows which side is involved.
Balance holdsBusy but not synchronized
Which kind of seizure?
Things that lower the seizure threshold
Glutamate — the push to fire50
GABA — the brake50
Seconds into the event0
Net push
0
glutamate minus GABA
Firing sync
18
% of neurons in lockstep
Event time
0
seconds
Oxygen use
100
% of resting need
Fuel left
100
% of brain glucose
Temperature
37.0
°C
What is happening now
Pick a kind of seizure.
Fix the cause you can fix. A seizure from low sodium or low glucose keeps coming back until that value is corrected. The treatment is the electrolyte or the dextrose, not only a sedative.
Turn the person on their side, so secretions drain.
Cushion the head and clear away hazards.
Do not restrain, and put nothing in the mouth.
Note the start time. At 5 minutes, treat it as status epilepticus.