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Population Analysis of Somatosensory Thalamus in the Cat

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Abstract

THE responses to both natural and electrical stimulation of peripheral structures, and to electrical stimulation of the cerebral cortex, were determined for a representative sample of forepaw-responsive neurones in the nucleus ventralis posterolateralis (VPL) of the cat thalamus. Information from all the cells studied permits a reconstruction of the behaviour of the total population of neurones responding to a given input (that is, forepaw stimulation). The spatio-temporal distribution of unit neuronal activity occurring within the somatosensory thalamus following application of discrete stimuli to the body surface, once reconstructed, can be understood in terms of the contributions of various kinds of neuronal elements to the overall population response.

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HARRIS, F. Population Analysis of Somatosensory Thalamus in the Cat. Nature 225, 559–562 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/225559a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/225559a0

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