Linked spike activity of rabbit neocortex neurons during self-stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus.

Cross-correlation and autocorrelation histograms were constructed to study the linkage between the spike activity of neurons in the visual and sensorimotor areas of both cerebral hemispheres in rabbits over periods of 10 sec after self-stimulation of the right and left lateral hypothalamus. Self-stimulation was followed by an increase in the number of pairs of cells in which neurons in the sensorimotor area fired after cells in the visual cortex (from 24 +/- 6% to 44 +/- 6%). Analysis of the spectrum of linked discharges revealed increases in the alpha and theta frequency ranges: the main increases in the right hemisphere were in the alpha range, while the main increases in the left hemisphere were in the theta range. Interhemisphere asymmetry in the interaction of cortical neurons was not associated with the side of the hypothalamus subjected to stimulation.