[Analysis of the background activity of neurons of the anterior (limbic) nuclei of the thalamus in the rabbit].

Background activity recorded extracellularly from three anterior (limbic) nuclei of the thalamus was analyzed in chronic unanesthetized rabbits. The neurons of anteroventral nucleus possessed high mean frequency of discharges and highly differentiated dynamic patterns of activity with "inactivation bursts", modulation in delta- or theta-frequencies and episodic rhythmic discharges 12-14 Hz correlated with EEG-spindles in the posterior cingulate cortex. The activity of anteromedial nucleus neurons was lower and much more uniform; it consisted of alternating randomized spikes and "inactivation bursts". The activity of anterodorsal nucleus neurons was represented mainly by high-frequency grouped discharges with long intergroup intervals.