High-energy gamma rays in coincidence with low-energy discrete transitions have been measured by coupling EUROBALL with the HECTOR array. The high-energy \gamma -ray spectrum in coincidence with superdeformed (SD) discrete transitions of ¹⁴³Eu shows an `excess' between 9-12 MeV if compared with the one associated to cascades which do not pass through the SD configurations. Such an `excess' is in the energy region where one expects the low energy component of the GDR strength function built on a SD state. High energy \gamma -rays have been found also to enhance the population of the discrete SD band, the ridge structure and the superdeformed quasi-continuum showing that the E1 cooling is a preferred way to feed SD configurations.

PACS numbers: 21.10.Re, 25.70.Gh