Vertical spread of neuronal activity within the cat motor cortex investigated with epicortical stimulation and intracellular recording.

In the encéphale isolé cat preparation the surface of precruciate cortex was electrically stimulated. Intracellular responses underneath the stimulated site were recorded to assess the vertical spread of activities across the cortical layers. To the epicortical stimulation (EPICS) with intensity adjusted to evoke a pure negative wave in the direct cortical response (DCR), only some neurons in relatively superficial layers responded with excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs). Stimuli intensified to evoke both the negative and subsequent positive waves in DCR produced in all tested cells either EPSPs, inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs), or both. Direct or axonal antidromic excitation of the cell was observed only infrequently. Cells with EPSPs distributed through all the layers with two peak populations in laminae II and V-VI. Those with IPSPs were located mainly in the upper half of lamina III with a few in more superficial as well as in deeper layers. Both EPSPs and IPSPs showed mono- or oligosynaptic latencies (0.6-10 msec) that tended to become longer in deep than in superficial layers. Some deep layer cells including fast and slow pyramidal tract cells showed slowly rising monosynaptic EPSPs of dendritic origin. Further late responses consisted of EPSPs, IPSPs, disfacilitation (DF), and disinhibition (DI). DF or DI occurred in some deep layer cells. Two modes of vertical spread of activities were postulated: one the cascade transmissions which increased response repertoire toward the depths, and the other the electrotonic spread of EPSPs along dendrites.