Integrative activity of cortical neurons in the systems organization of food behavior.

The spike activity of neurons in the visual and parietal areas of the cerebral cortex was studied in cats at sequential steps of operant food-procuring behavior. Cells had individual patterns of spike activity, and changes in different areas of the cortex were associated with the modality of the conditioned stimulus, the level of food motivation, and the effectiveness of achieving the step-by-step results of behavior. The distribution of spike activity on the axon of a neuron reflected the dynamics of its integrative activity and depended on the pre-existing functional state of the cell and the ongoing synaptic activation during the development of key mechanisms of the central architecture of the functional system for the behavioral act.