The representation of the oral structures in the first somatosensory cortex of the cat.

Applying light mechanical stimulations to the oral structures, multi-unit recordings (MUR) were performed, and receptive fields of neurons were defined in the somatosensory cortex S I of the cat. Oral representation was confirmed in the circumscribed area of the anterior coronal gyrus rostral to the facial area in the following order: the contralateral lips, the contralateral periodontal tissues such as the gingivae and periodontal membranes, the middle and ipsilateral part of the periodontal tissues, and the palate and tongue in a caudorostral direction. The representation of the lip and perioral tissues of the lower jaw was found on the medial side of the coronal gyrus, while the upper one was found on the lateral side. The same oral representation was confirmed by single-unit recording (SUR) analysis in the anterior coronal gyrus. The representation area of the contralateral, middle and ipsilateral site of the non-hairy lips and periodontal tissues was found in cytoarchitectural field, areas 3b and 2; somatic koniocortex.