Study of descending inhibitory and facilitory effect of the orbital cortex on the electrical discharges of medial geniculate body (MGB) neurons in rabbits.

Experiments were performed on 16 rabbits immobilized with flaxedil. The recording of spontaneous discharges and the discharges of single MGB neurons caused by clicks showed that when the cerebral-orbital cortex was stimulated, of 92 MGB neurons responding to clicks, 25 units (27.2%) were inhibited, 14 units (15.2%) were facilitated, and 15 units with spontaneous discharges were completely inhibited. The topographical distribution of stimulated points with such inhibitory and facilitory effect is quite concentrated on the orbital cortex. Stimulation of two adjacent points of the orbital cortex could respectively result in different kinds of inhibitory and facilitory effect on discharges of a same MGB neuron. Due to the existence of this descending effect with a short latent period (2-3 ms), the authors have reason to believe that there might be an "orbital cortex-MGB" direct pathway. Moreover, application of 2% procaine to block the auditory cortex behind the rhinal sulcus (ACBRS) could abolish the facilitory effect, with a long latency, of the orbital cortex. Therefore, the influence of the orbital cortex on MGB might be also transmitted via the "orbital-ACBRS-MGB" circuit.