[Influence of the mesencephalic reticular formation on the synchronization of cortical evoked potentials].

It has been shown in experiments on alert rabbits that evoked potentials (EP) of the visual and motor cortex to a millisecond stimulation of the midbrain reticular formation (RF) have a greater similarity (due to increased amplitude and coherence of the theta-rhythmic components) as compared with preceding background activity and evoked potentials to a photic flash. The EPs of these neocortical areas to a photic flash had a more similar form after preliminary RF stimulation. The similarity of evoked responses to stimulation of RF increased after its repeated presentations. The summate poststimulus histogram in which the responses of individual units (24 neurones) of the visual cortex to a single RF stimulation were summed up, proved to be similar in form to EP recorded on the surface of the visual cortex after a similar RF stimulation.