[Antidromal action potentials as a manifestation of trace excitation].

The possibility of occurance of action potentials (AP) in neuronal terminals after preliminary excitation of a cortical area was studied in unanaesthetized, non-immobilized rabbits. It was found that a low-frequency subconvulsive stimulation of the sensorimotor cortex may lead to a spontaneous appearance of AP groups that spread antidromically toward the soma of callosal neurones in the opposite hemisphere. Groups of spontaneous antidromic AP were recorded in the cortex after the disappearance of convulsive activity caused by application of penicillin. It is assumed that the observed phenomena reflect a prolonged retention of increased excitability in the terminals of cortical neurones after the end of electrical stimulation or penicillin action.