Representation of internal organs in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum of cats and dogs

Summary

Experiments on cats and dogs have shown that stimulation of the urinary bladder, colon and uterus elicits a primary reaction in the I and II zones of cortical representation of the pelvic nerve. Stimulation of the stomach and pericardium elicits primary reactions in the I and II areas of general sensitivity, bordering the area of representation of the peliic and splanchnic nerves. If the afferent impulses of the pelvic nerve during dilatation of the urinary bladder are compared with the cortical potentials one might suppose that summation of excitations takes place in the thalamic neurons, while thebursts of slow potentials and great amplitude, registered during prolonged stimulation of the bladder, might be regarded as a series of primary complexes, originating in the IV cortical layer after thalamic discharges.