[Nonspecific signal conduction modification in the cat ventrobasal thalamus].

Evoked unit activity of 83 neurons in the nuclei of ventralis posterior lateralis (VPL) in response to forelimb stimulation combined with the conditioning stimulation of the thalamic centrum medianum (CM) was examined in acute experiments on listenon-immobilized adult cats under nembutal anesthesia (20 mg/kg). 65 neurons responded to the peripheral stimulation with a latency of 5--7 ms (short-latent), the rest 18 neurons responded with a latency of 8--18 ms (long-latent). In 11 cases, the evoked responses with a latency of 2--8 ms were recorded under stimulation of CM with single stimuli. The conditioning stimulation of CM (patches of 4--5 impulses with a frequency of 200--250 Hz) resulted in the inhibition of evoked responses of 26 neurons to the testing stimuli applied to the forelimb over an interval of 20 to 180 ms. The maximum inhibitory effect under CM stimulation was demonstrated in long-latency neurons of VPL.