Abstract
The effect of curare (dihydro-beta-erythroidine hydrobromide) on the electroencephalogram was studied in the rat and cat with monopolar pickup from the frontal, auditory and occipital cerebral cortical areas. Two procedures were used, animals from both spp.being subjected to each test the effect of curarization upon (1) normal animals and (2) those initially subjected to light Dial anesthesia. In both groups, uniformly, the EEG persisted undisturbed following curarization including complete paralysis. Typical spike responses to auditory and visual stimuli were also observed and were detected following the injn. of small doses of Nembutal which suppressed the EEG. With large doses of Nembutal, the spike responses also disappeared. The EEG in the curarized animal appeared like that detected in the normal or lightly dia-lized animals. It is concluded, as previously reported for dog and monkey, that while curare depresses transmission from motor nerve to striated muscle, spontaneous cortical resting potentials (of which the EEG is an indicator) continued unimpeded.