ABSTRACT
The strength of melatonin’s anticonvulsant properties vary depending on the investigation and the epileptic model. Overall, melatonin appears to be a general depressant of neural function which could account for its anticonvulsant nature. Melatonin is receiving increasing clinical experimentation especially for use in the treatment of sleep disorders, “jet lag”, and seasonal affective disorder. Likewise, the role of pineal and it’s hormone, melatonin, on the regulation of epilepsy will be discussed. A nocturnal rhythm of melatonin has been found in virtually every mammal studied to date, irrespective of their activity-sleep patterns. The ability of the pineal or its hormone, melatonin, to alter seizure susceptibility in humans has been hypothesized, but directly tested only once. The use of photoperiod or melatonin treatments to control convulsions is advantageous because they involve modulation of endogenous systems which may already be capable of modifying seizure sensitivity.
