EFFECT OF OPTIC AND ACOUSTIC STIMULI ON THE CORTEX AND HYPOTHALAMUS UNDER CONDITIONS OF PICROTOXIN CONVULSIONS

Abstract

THE INFLUENCE of afferent impulses elicited by stimulation of the sciatic nerve and of the posterior portion of the hypothalamus was the subject of a previous investigation.¹ It was found that these factors induce and intensify convulsive movements and greatly alter cortical activity. Examples of intensification, as well as of suppression, of convulsant potentials as the result of such stimuli were presented, and the mechanism of the underlying neurophysiologic processes was discussed. The present investigation is concerned with the influence of sensory impulses (optic and acoustic) in similar circumstances. This effect is obviously related to clinical problems of epilepsy, since a sensory "aura" frequently precedes the motor attack, and "acoustico-motor" (Penfield²) and "musicogenic" forms of epilepsy (Critchley³) have been described in the literature. METHOD The procedure was similar to that used in the preceding investigation.¹ Cats were anesthetized with diallylbarbituric acid with urethane ("dial with urethane") before