Zemon V, Kaplan E, Ratliff F
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Dec;77(12):7476-8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.12.7476.
Visual evoked potentials (VEPs), elicited by modulation of luminance of homogeneous fields of light, were recorded from the scalp and from the surface of the visual cortex of cats before and after topical application of bicuculline to the cortex. The application of this drug drastically altered the VEP: the amplitude of a normally small negative component was increased greatly, and a normally prominent late positive component was diminished. Bicuculline is known to block the action of gamma-aminobutyric acid, which is thought to be the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the visual cortex. We suggest, therefore, that the affected negative wave reflects an excitatory process in the visual cortex and that the affected late positive wave reflects an intracortical inhibitory process.
通过调制均匀光场的亮度诱发的视觉诱发电位（VEP），在向猫的视觉皮层局部应用荷包牡丹碱前后，从头皮和视觉皮层表面进行记录。这种药物的应用极大地改变了VEP：一个正常情况下较小的负向成分的幅度大幅增加，而一个正常情况下明显的晚期正向成分则减小。已知荷包牡丹碱会阻断γ-氨基丁酸的作用，γ-氨基丁酸被认为是视觉皮层中的主要抑制性神经递质。因此，我们认为，受影响的负向波反映了视觉皮层中的兴奋过程，而受影响的晚期正向波反映了皮层内的抑制过程。
