title: Frequency dependent corticofugal excitation of principal cells in the cat's dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus.
abstract: Excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) were evoked in principal cells of the cat's dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus by electrical stimulation of cortico-geniculate fibres. The EPSPs had a pronounced frequency sensitivity. They were barely detectable at stimulation frequencies below 3 Hz but increased dramatically in size at higher frequencies. At 30-50 Hz their amplitude typically exceeded that of EPSPs from optic tract fibres. A prominent EPSP potentiation was also obtained with pair pulse stimulation. The findings are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that the cortico-geniculate system serves as a variable gain regulator for the visual input to the cortex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lindström
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wróbel
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005829:Geniculate Bodies / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology