Response of neurons in primary somatosensory cortex of cat following prolonged exposure to strong sinusoidal mechanical stimuli.
Psychophysical studies in humans have demonstrated adaptation of the mechanoreceptive submodalities of flutter and vibration after prolonged presentation of a strong adapting, or conditioning, stimulus. In our studies we recorded from single neurons in cat primary somatosensory cortex, and followed a paradigm in which the response of a single unit was measured before and after the presentation of a strong conditioning stimulus. Our findings show no adaptive response in the 30 sec period immediately after cessation of the conditioning stimulus, and suggest that other parallel ascending pathways or somatosensory cortical areas other than SI account for these psychophysical observations.
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010141:Pacinian Corpuscles / Q000502:physiology; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors