[Corticofugal influences of somatosensory areas of the cortex on signal transmission in the posterior ventral nucleus].

Acute experiments were conducted in cats under nembutal anesthesia. A study was made of responses in the thalamo-cortical fibers coursing to the first somato-sensory area of the cortex to the electric stimulation of the fibers of the medial lemniscus. Application of penicillin to the somato-sensory cortex and development of epileptoid activity considerably diminished the amplitude of the responses in the thalamo-cortical fibers. The first somato-sensory zone proved to be much more effective than the second one. The appearance of the epileptoid activity in the projection cortex considerably diminished the inhibitory process in the posterior ventral nucleus; this was revealed by giving paired stimuli to the medial lemniscus.