Movement-dependent and movement-independent changes in hippocampal RSA in cats.

EEG was recorded from the dorsal hippocampus of cats during walking in situations intended to elicit a minimum of orienting or attentional behavior. The situations included walking in an alley for food after prolonged overtraining, and ad lib walking in an observation chamber after 24 hours habituation. In virtually all (82-100%) cases of sustained walking RSA was present in the dorsal hippocampus; however, the amplitude of the RSA during walking was quite variable and in many cases quite small. The results suggest that in the cat motoric factors may influence the occurrence of RSA and non-motoric factors may influence the amplitude of RSA.