| Abstract: | A conditioned defensive reflex to photic stimulation was produced in rabbits in computer-controlled experiments during regular electrical stimulation of the septum. During reflex formation spectral-correlation analysis was undertaken of sensomotor and visual cortical potentials and hippocampal potentials. In each rabbit the reflex to light was produced during septal stimulation at a definite frequency (2, 4, 7, and 9 Hz). Regular electrical stimulation of the septum at frequencies of 7 and 9 Hz accelerated conditioning whereas stimulation at a frequency of 2 Hz prevented formation of the temporary connection (the reflex appeared at the 35th combination). By changing the frequency of electrical stimulation of the septum, the speed of learning can thus be influenced. It is suggested that the role of the septum is to set a definite level of synchronization of brain processes at the optimal value for conduction of excitation from its afferent to its effector system.Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 239–244, May–June, 1978. |
