Summary
-
1.
Evoked potential studies done on chloralose anesthetized cats showed that potentials elicited by stimulation of the ipsilateral body surface and recorded in the second somatosensory cortex (SII) are mediated largely by contralateral somatosensory cortex by way of the corpus callosum; the ipsilateral posterior complex of the thalamus mediates only a small part of these potentials. Under the depressed conditions of barbiturate anesthesia only the ipsilateral posterior complex mediates these potentials.
-
2.
Cells in anterior SII of unanesthetized, painlessly immobilized cats respond not only to light cutaneous stimulation but also to stimulation of contralateral somatosensory cortex. For some SII neurons stimulation of contralateral SII can inhibit discharges elicited by stimulation of the contralateral cutaneous receptive field.
-
3.
All neurons excited by stimulation of contralateral SI and/or SII had bilateral receptive fields. These and other data suggest that much of the activity evoked by stimulation of the ipsilateral portion of a bilateral receptive field is mediated by contralateral somatosensory cortex by way of the corpus callosum.
-
4.
Some neurons in SII which have small receptive fields on the contralateral forepaw can be discharged antidromically by stimulation of contralateral SII. Additional data show that large, slow wave potentials evoked by stimulation of the ipsilateral forepaw are mediated by the corpus callosum. Thus, contrary to expectations from anatomical studies, distal as well as proximal structures are represented in the topographical organization of the corpus callosum.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Berlucchi, G., Gazzaniga, M.S., Rizzolatti, G.: Microelectrode analysis of transfer of visual information by the corpus callosum. Arch. ital. Biol. 105, 583–596 (1967).
Carreras, M., Andersson, S.A.: Functional properties of neurons of the anterior ectosylvian gyrus of the cat. J. Neurophysiol. 26, 100–126 (1963).
Darian-Smith, I., Isbister, J., Mok, H., Yokata, T.: Somatic sensory cortical projection areas excited by tactile stimulation of the cat: a triple representation. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 182, 671–689 (1966).
Davies, P.W.: Chamber for microelectrode studies in the cerebral cortex. Science 124, 179–180 (1956).
Ebner, F.F., Myers, R.E.: Distribution of corpus callosum and anterior commissure in cat and raccoon. J. comp. Neurol. 124, 353–366 (1965).
Gaze, R.M., Gordon, G.: The representation of cutaneous sense in the thalamus of the cat and monkey. Quart. J. exp. Physiol. 39, 279–304 (1954).
Guillery, R.W., Adrian, H.O., Woolsey, C.N., Rose, J.E.: Activation of somatosensory areas I and II of the cat's cerebral cortex by focal stimulation of the ventrobasal complex. In: The Thalamus, pp. 197–206. Ed. by D.P. Purpura and H. Yahr. New York: Columbia University Press 1966.
Hand, P.J., Morrison, A.R.: Thalamocortical projections from the ventrobasal complex to somatic sensory areas I and II. Exp. Neurol. 26, 291–308 (1970).
Heath, C.J., Jones, E.G.: An experimental study of ascending connections from the posterior group of thalamic nuclei in the cat. J. comp. Neurol. 141, 397–426 (1971).
Hubel, D.H., Wiesel, T.N.: Cortical and callosal connections concerned with the vertical meridian of visual fields in the cat. J. Neurophysiol. 30, 1561–1573 (1967).
Innocenti, G.M., Manzoni, T., Spidalieri, G.: Cutaneous receptive fields of single fibers of the corpus callosum. Brain Res. 40, 507–512 (1972).
Jones, E.G., Powell, T.P.S.: The commissural connexions of the somatic sensory cortex in the cat. J. Anat. (Lond.) 103, 433–455 (1968).
— The cortical projection of the ventroposterior nucleus of the thalamus in the cat. Brain Res. 13, 298–318 (1969).
Kawamura, K., Otani, K.: Corticortical fiber connections in the cat cerebrum: the frontal region. J. comp. Neurol. 139, 423–448 (1970).
Knighton, R.S.: Thalamic relay nucleus for the second somatic sensory receiving area in the cerebral cortex of the cat. J. comp. Neurol. 92, 183–191 (1950).
Manson, J.: The somatosensory cortical projection of single nerve cells in the thalamus of the cat. Brain Res. 12, 489–492 (1969).
Morrison, A.R.: Contrasting corti-cortical connections of somatosensory areas I and II. Anat. Rec. 157, 290 (1967).
— Hand, P.J., O'Donoghue, J.: Contrasting projections from the posterior and ventrobasal thalamic nuclear complexes to the anterior ectosylvian gyrus of the cat. Brain Res. 21, 115–121 (1970).
Morse, R.W., Vargo, R.A.: Functional neuronal subsets in the forepaw focus of somatosensory area II of the cat. Exp. Neurol. 27, 125–138 (1970).
Nakahama, H., Saito, M.: Interconnections of the somatic areas I and II (limb) of the cats. Jap. J. Physiol. 6, 200–205 (1956).
Noda, H., Freeman, R.B., Gies, B., Creutzfeldt, O.D.: Neuronal responses in the visual cortex of awake cats to stationary and moving targets. Exp. Brain Res. 12, 389–405 (1971).
Poggio, G.F., Mountcastle, V.B.: A study of the functional contributions of the lemniscal and spinothalamic systems to somatic sensibility. Central nervous mechanisms in pain. Bull. Johns Hopk. Hosp. 106, 266–316 (1960).
— The functional properties of ventrobasal thalamic neurons studied in unanesthetized monkeys. J. Neurophysiol. 26, 775–806 (1963).
Rowe, M.J., Sessle, B.J.: Somatic afferent input to posterior thalamic neurons and their axon projection to the cerebral cortex in the cat. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 196, 19–35 (1068).
Skinner, J.E., Lindsley, D.B.: Reversible cryogenic blockade of neural function in the brain of unrestrained animals. Science 161, 595–597 (1968).
Teitelbaum, H., Sharpless, S.K., Byck, R.: Role of somatosensory cortex in interhemispheric transfer of tactile habits. J. comp. physiol. Psychol. 66, 623–632 (1968).
Wendt, R., Albe-Fessard, D.: Sensory responses of the amygdala with special reference to somatic afferent pathways. In: Physiologie de l'hippocampe. Ed. by P. Passouant. C.N.R.S. 107, 171–200 (1962).
Whitsel, B.L., Petrucelli, L.M., Werner, G.: Symmetry and connectivity in the map of the body surface in somatosensory area II of primates. J. Neurophysiol. 32, 170–183 (1969).
Woolsey, C.N.: “Second” somatic receiving area in the cerebral cortex of cat, dog, and monkey. Fed. Proc. 2, 55–56 (1943).
— Organization of somatic sensory and motor areas of the cerebral cortex. In: Biological and Biochemical Bases of Behavior, pp. 63–81. Ed. by H.F. Harlow and C.N. Woolsey. Madison, Wisc.: University of Wisconsin Press 1958.
— Wang, G.: Somatic areas I and II of the cerebral cortex of the rabbit. Fed. Proc. 4, 79 (1945).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Robinson, D.L. Electrophysiological analysis of interhemispheric relations in the second somatosensory cortex of the cat. Exp Brain Res 18, 131–144 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00234718
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00234718