Operant conditioning of primate spinal reflexes: effect on cortical SEPs.
Previous studies have demonstrated operant conditioning of the primate spinal stretch reflex (SSR) and of its electrical analog, the H-reflex. We studied the evoked potential recorded over primary somatosensory cortex (SEP) which accompanies the H-reflex to determine whether the initial cortical response changes in the course of conditioned H-reflex change. When H-reflex amplitude changed, SEP amplitude also changed, but only half as much as the H-reflex. The results indicate that, while operant conditioning of the H-reflex has its largest effect on the spinal pathway of the reflex, it also has some effect on supraspinal pathways of the initial cortical response.
D000818:Animals; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000502:physiology*; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory; D008254:Macaca nemestrina; D008297:Male; D012018:Reflex; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology*