Effect of environmental complexity on the latency of cortical vibrissa potentials.

The effect of differential rearing on evoked potentials was studied in the vibrissal representation of the rat neocortex. Young rats were reared in either enriched, standard, or impoverished conditions from the age of 24-25 days. At 55-60 days of age, the epicortical responses to electric stimulation of a whisker follicle were analyzed under urethane anesthesia. Slight but significant shortening of the latency of initial positivity in the evoked potential was observed after rearing in the enriched condition as compared to the data obtained from the littermates that were reared in the standard or impoverished conditions.