Afferent inhibition and the functional properties of neurons in the projection zone of the whiskers in the somatosensory cortex of the cat.

The effects of afferent evoked inhibition on the functional properties of neurons in the whisker projection zone were studied in the cat brain. These investigations showed that afferent inhibition produced significant changes in the receptive fields of neurons, resulting in the induction of directional sensitivity. These data provide evidence for a defined topical ordering of intracortical inhibitory interactions. It is suggested that in natural conditions, movement of an object across the whisker field, resulting in sequential stimulation of the whiskers, results in sequential tuning of the detector properties of neurons receiving afferent flows from the whiskers. This process may form part of the mechanism for recognizing the direction of stimulus movement.