Influence of the somatic region of the cortex on trace inhibitory processes in the posterior lateral nucleus of the thalamus

Acute experiments were conducted on cats under nembutal anesthesia. A study was made of the dynamics of the changes occurring in the curve of restoration of the test response amplitude in the thalamo-cortical fibers to the pared stimulation of the medial lemniscus with various actions on the somatosensory ared. The curve under study served as an indicator of the corticofugal influences on the inhibitory after process in the transmission nucleus of the thalamus. The influences on one somatosensory area of the cortex blocked the transmission of the afferent signals in 70% of the neurons of the transmission nucleus of the thalamus. A correlation between the number of the neurons participating in the reaction and the character of the initial phase of the inhibitory afterprocess was noted.