| Abstract: | Unit activity was recorded from two parietal areas of the cat neocortex in semichronic experiments. Cell responses to presentation of adequate stimuli of different modalities and to direct electrical stimulation of various cortical zones were studied. About 4% of neurons of the Clare-Bishop area did not respond to visual stimulation. Cells responding to stimuli of different modalities were found in the Clare-Bishop area. A high percentage of cells in this area responded to direct electrical stimulation of area 17. In the association area (area 7) 27% of neurons tested responded to visual stimuli, but only a very small relative number of cells (compared with responding neurons of the Clare-Bishop area) responded to stimulation of the primary sensory areas. Electrical stimulation of area 7 inhibited evoked and spontaneous unit activity in the Clare-Bishop area. The hypothesis that these areas are the association representation of two different sections of the visual system — retino-geniculocortical and retino-tecto-thalamocortical — is discussed.Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 13, No. 6, pp. 612–620, November–December, 1981. |
