[Prolonged homosynaptic depression of the impulse reactions of the motor cortex neurons in the cat].

It is shown that in the motor and the visual cortices of the cat the homosynaptic long-term posttetanic depression (LTD) of monosynaptic impulse responses of the cortical neurons may be induced in the tetanized input. Homosynaptic LTD appears as a decrease of the probability of the monosynaptic discharges or an increase in the latency of the monosynaptic responses. The cortical homosynaptic depression possesses the same properties as the hippocampal LTD, namely, the longevity, input specificity, cooperativity, and associativity. The possible mechanisms of the homosynaptic LTD induction are discussed. The effect may be determined, on the one hand, as Ca-dependent phenomenon, and on the other hand, as the LTP of monosynaptic reactions of the input inhibitory interneurons. It is supposed that the homosynaptic LTD of the impulse reactions of the cortical neurons may be one of the basic mechanisms in certain learning tasks, such as habituation or extinction.