Facilitation and inhibition of jaw reflexes evoked by electrical stimulation of the cat's cerebral cortex.

The effects of electrical stimulation of the cerebral cortex on the monosynaptic jaw closing and the disynaptic jaw opening reflexes were studied in cats anaesthetized with chloralose. The time course of the reflex effects was recorded. Similar rhythmic sequences of facilitation and inhibition were observed in both reflexes (Fig. 3). The sequence could start with facilitation or inhibition. The latency of the initial effects was short (2.5 ms) indicating a minimum of two synapses in the descending path. The period of the rhythmic sequence was approximately 10 ms. Optimal parameters for the conditioning cortisol stimuli were found to be: trains of 3-5 surface anodal pulses, 0.5 ms, 400 Hz. The threshold of the cortical effects on the reflexes was 0.3 mA. A single pulse evoked effects. The cortical origin of the effects was located and related to the somatosensory projections, and to the cytoarchitecture. The effects of largest amplitude and most complex time course were evoked from the oral and perioral projections to areas 3a and 3b. Effects evoked from areas 4 gamma, 5a, and 6a beta were less complex and of lower amplitude. It is suggested that a trigemino-cortico-trigeminal loop via 3a may function in reflex modulation of the jaw movements. In addition area 3a may contribute to cortico-cortical motor elaborations via U-fiber connections to area 4 gamma.