[Activity of cortical neurons in food-getting behavior following microiontophoretic administration of acetylcholine and L-glutamate].

In conditions of complex food-acquisition behaviour of rabbits, a study was made of the influence of microiontophoretically administered acetylcholine and L-glutamate, putative mediators, on the activity of single cortical neurons. It was found that the drugs changed the total frequency of neurons firing and their activations, related to certain behavioral acts, components of the complex behaviour. They did not change the pattern of neuron spike activity within the limits of the entire food-acquisition behaviour. On the basis of these facts and published data on the influence of microiontophoretically administered acetylcholine and L-glutamate on neuronal metabolism, it is suggested that the hierarchic organization of behaviour is reflected in the organization of metabolic processes in cortical neurons.