ABSTRACT
Studies were performed on five dogs. Chronic experimental conditions were used to study the responses of individual neurons in the caudate nucleus to the spatial characteristics of an acoustic signal. The results showed that 92% of sound stimulus-responsive neurons in the head of the caudate nucleus in dogs generated asymmetrical responses to contra- and ipsilateral monaural stimulation, with contralateral stimulation being more effective. In 50% of caudate nucleus neurons, simultaneous stimulation of both sound inputs was more effective than contralateral stimulation. A total of 77% of sound-responsive caudate neurons demonstrated sensitivity to changes in the magnitude and sign of the interaural delay.
Subject(s)
Caudate Nucleus/physiology , Evoked Potentials, Auditory/physiology , Neurons/physiology , Sound Localization/physiology , Space Perception/physiology , Acoustic Stimulation , Animals , Caudate Nucleus/cytology , Dogs , Male , Signal Transduction/physiologyABSTRACT
The instrumental differentiation of left-right positions of sound-conditioned stimuli (series of clicks under dichotic stimulation) in 8 dogs was examined before and after the bilateral electrolytic lesions of various parts of the caudate nucleus (NCd). It was demonstrated that after damage of the NCd the correct differentiation of the side of monaural sound stimulation was preserved in all dogs. However, the differentiation of lateralization of sound produced by interaural time differences was selectively impaired. Lesions of the dorsal part of the NCd heads caused the absolute absence of the differentiation of the binaural sound image lateralization for 21-50 days after the operation. This function partially recovered but the percentage of correct responses remained significantly reduced in comparison with preoperative performance. Lesions of the ventral segment of the NCd heads of different parts of the NCd bodies had less influence on the performance of this behavioral task. In these cases there was no period of absolute absence of the differentiation, but the level of correct responses to the binaural signals was significantly reduced. It is suggested that the NCd is a part of the system of brain structures in which the parameters of the conditioned sound signals are compared with a reference system for recognition of sound location. The result of this comparison is used by the NCd for choosing a corresponding program of the motor response.
Subject(s)
Auditory Perception/physiology , Caudate Nucleus/physiology , Conditioning, Operant/physiology , Sound Localization/physiology , Animals , Brain Mapping , Dogs , Dominance, Cerebral/physiology , Retention, Psychology/physiologyABSTRACT
We have recorded extracellularly the impulse activity of the rat medulla oblongata during stimulation of taste receptors of the tongue and visceral chemoreceptors with solutions of hydrochloric acid and sodium chloride. We have detected in the caudal region of the nucleus of the solitary tract, neurons that react to the chemical stimulation of either one or both the receptive zones mentioned. The response reactions of the isolated groups of units (taste, viscerochemical, and convergent neurons) are tonic and are characterized by a high level of impulse activity. We have established that the neurons of each of the groups isolated are capable of discriminating between salt and acid solutions. Using the example of sodium chloride solutions we have shown that an increase in the number of viscerochemical neurons which inhibit their own background activity on increase in the concentration of any substance in the intestine is an important index of the satiation of an animal and can serve as a starting link in the mechanism of food rejection.
