Correlation relationships of evoked activity of the auditory cortex and the amygdalae of cats during conditioned reflex activity.

The character of the interaction (Spearman's correlation coefficient) between the structures before, and during the development, extinction, and restoration of an instrumental food-procuring reflex, as well as during the automatization of the reflex was determined on the basis of the averaged sound-induced activity (AEP) of symmetrical points of the auditory cortex (AI) and the amygdalae (abl) of cats. The co-tuning of the cortex and the amygdalae during the adaptation of the animal was found to be individual in character; this was replaced by close interactions during the formation of the reflex and by the disruption of their correlatedness during its extinction. The consolidation of the reflex prior to the stage of automatization was accompanied by attenuation of the connections between the cortex and the amygdala. The results attest to the complex and dynamic character of the interdependence in the cortex-amygdala system during conditioned reflex activity.