Summary
In precollicular decerebrate cats, limb nerves have been stimulated and field potentials and unitary activity recorded from the cerebellar cortex. Doses of pentothal up to 8 mg/kg affect neither the activity evoked in the fast mossy fibre pathways, nor the size of the postsynaptic potentials in granule cells, but the axon discharge in these latter cells is clearly affected. With 4–8 mg/kg the axon discharge of granule cells is abolished and as a consequence Purkinje cells do not respond to the peripheral stimulation via the mossy fibres. In contrast the activity evoked through the climbing fibres is enhanced. This effect takes place at precerebellar level. Both the effects on the mossy fibre and climbing fibre pathways show a recovery in 15–60 min depending on the dose.
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Postgraduate student of the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa.
Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
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Gordon, M., Rubia, F.J. & Strata, P. The effect of pentothal on the activity evoked in the cerebellar cortex. Exp Brain Res 17, 50–62 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00234563
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00234563