The correlation between discharge times of neighbouring neurons in isolated cerebral cortex

Abstract

The purpose of the experiments was to find out whether neighbouring neurons in chronic preparations of neurally isolated cerebral cortex are more likely to fire synchronously than are similar neurons in the intact brain. Chronically implanted extracellular microelectrodes were used to obtain simultaneous records of the spontaneous discharges of neighbouring neurons in the suprasylvian gyrus of the unanaesthetized, unrestrained cat. We have examined multi-unit records obtained from neurons in islands of neurally isolated cortex; these records have been compared with similar records from neurons in the same cortical region of the intact brains of control animals. In isolated cortex, neighbouring neurons showed a tendency to discharge in near synchrony. In contrast, there was a random temporal relation between the firing times of adjacent nerve cells of intact cortex, provided the cat was awake. These results, taken together with the relevant observations of other workers, may indicate the manner in which biologically important information is transmitted within the mammalian brain.