Changes in steady potential level and in brain bioelectrochemical potential during orienting and conditioned reflexes in rabbits.

Abstract

1. The orienting reaction in rabbits is accompanied by generalized shifts of SPL in the cortex in the absence of changes in BECP. 2. Changes in BECP appear only during conditioned reflex formation and develop during combination of the conditioned and reinforcing stimuli. During combination shifts of SLP also are observed, and in their configuration and amplitude they differ from those occurring during OR. 3. Simultaneous recording of changes in BECP and shifts of SLP developing during combination of conditioned and reinforcing stimuli shows that the two phenomena are the external manifestation of independent processes. 4. It is postulated that brain activity concerned with the perception and analysis of the informational significance of a stimulus is linked more closely with bioelectrical than with metabolic processes. During a combination of two stimuli in the process of conditioned reflex formation, besides the strengthening of activity linked with bioelectrical processes, a new type of activity accompanied by considerable metabolic shifts appears. 5. Recording changes in the electrochemical potential of an electrode made of inert metal is a highly rewarding method for studying the spatiotemporal organization of metabolic activity of the brain, connected with higher nervous activity.