[Reactions of the neurons of the reticular and ventral anterior nuclei of the optic thalamus to afferent stimulation of different modalities]

Abstract

Responses of 146 reticular (R) and 98 ventral anterior (VA) thalamic neurons to electrical stimulation of pads, to light flashes and sound clicks were studied in cats immobilized with d-tubocurarine or myorelaxine. The contralateral forepaw was the most effective receptive field: 24.9% of R and 31.3% of VA investigated neurons responded to its stimulation. Only 4.4% of R and 2.4% of VA neurons responded to the click. Almost all responding neurons reacted to different kind of the applied stimulation by phasic or tonic excitation. Inhibition of background activity was observed after the pads stimulation only in 2.6-4.3% of R and in 1.7%-2.1% of VA neurons. The latency of phasic responses in most neurons ranged: to electrical stimulation of the contralateral forepaw from 6 to 64 ms, to the contralateral hindpaw -- from 11 to 43 ms, to light -- 10-60 ms, and to the click -- 8-60 ms. 75.1-95.6% of R and 68.7-97.6% of VA neurons did not respond at all to different kinds of peripheral stimulation. Of a sample of cells tested to all inputs 25% of R and 47% of VA neurons responded to stimulation of more than one paw; 16% of R and 22% of VA neurons revealed convergence of volleys of different modality. The functional role of this convergence consists in inhibition (more seldom facilitation) of the neuronal response to a testing signal following 40-70 ms after a conditioning one.