Electroconvulsive stimulation delivered to the brain of bas2 flies reproducibly induces the bang-sensitive repertoire of seizure behaviour; such electroconvulsive seizures can actually be induced in wild-type flies but this requires more extreme stimulus intensities than for bas1 flies. The failure and recovery of the giant fibre (GF) pathway during seizure can be detected by recording the dorsal longitudinal muscle (DLM) physiological response. Following 1 Hz brain stimulation, bas1 mutants have a significantly longer period of DLM response failure compared to wild type. Additionally, the maximal initial discharge induction is shifted toward lower stimulus intensities in the mutant flies.
