| Abstract: | Neuronal response in the caudate nucleus to presentation of a wide variety of visual and other sensory stimuli was investigated in waking cats. Pronounced discrepancies in background activity of unknown origin as well as differing neuronal activity level were noted in adjacent sections of the nucleus. Of the neurons from which readings of response to sensory stimulation could be made, some reacted to presentation of exclusively visual and others to tactile stimuli; a third group responded to a combination of visual and somatic stimulation only. Response could only be produced in cells of all types by a high level of activity in the animal. Visual stimuli attracting the animal's interest proved to be the most effective form of stimulation. Ipsi- and contralateral sides of the animal's body were both represented in the caudate nucleus of each hemisphere. Neuronal response in the caudate nucleus may be compared with that produced by application of similar stimuli in cells belonging to different cortical areas.Institute for Research on Information Transmission, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 3–10, January–February, 1990. |
