Properties of Spike Activity of Neurons in Different Layers of the Cortex

Abstract

Considerable progress has been made in the study of the mechanisms of neuronal activity and in the depth of its analysis as a result of the development of microelectrode techniques and investigation of processes at the neuronal level. However, as Livanov (1965) has rightly pointed out, these investigations have dealt mainly with the function of individual neurons and not with the principles governing their interaction. Yet there is no doubt that it is these principles governing interneuronal relationships which determine the onset and course of neural processes of various types and can act as the key to our understanding of their nature and properties. In contrast to the term “neurodynamics,” denoting the course of and interaction between excitation and inhibition as integral acts of nervous activity, Livanov (1965) introduced the term “neurokinetics” to denote the interneuronal movement of neural processes and their integration. Among the main factors determining the character of this movement and its end results, in his opinion, are the chain character of the spread of excitation along neuronal systems and the limiting effect of inhibition. The role of inhibitory neuronal responses in the processes of cortical activity was the subject of a special examination (Livanov, 1963).

Pages 138–147 in the Russian edition.