title: Functional relationship between claustrum and pyramidal tract neurons, in the cat.
abstract: Electrophysiological relationships between the claustrum and the motor cortex were studied in cats preliminarily anesthetized with ketamine and then with chloralose. Single shock electrical activation of the claustrum induced a decrease of the spontaneous unitary activity of the pyramidal tract neurons (PTNs) both in area 4 and in area 6. Eighty percent of the total number of PTNs was inhibited whereas the remaining 20% was unaffected. The inhibitory effect lasted about 200 msec and appeared about 19 msec after claustrum activation. The results show a functional linkage between the claustrum and the efferent cells of the motor cortex. This relationship suggests the hypothesis that the claustrum, a multisensory structure, may be involved in motor activity integration.
mesh_terms: D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology*; D013787:Thalamic Nuclei / Q000502:physiology*