[Electrophysiologic analysis of the conditioned reflex activity of cats against a background of thirst]

EEG of the cerebral cortex and hypothalamic electrogram of cats during salt load and water deprivation were recorded at performance of conditioned running elicited by signals of insipid and salt food. The signal of insipid food presented during thirst was accompanied only by the cerebral cortex activation, while the salt signal involved in activation not only the cortex but the hypothalamus as well. In cases when the insipid signal was reinforced by salt food and the animal ate it (though during thirst it rejected the food), strong cortex activation was observed with the involvement of paraventricular parts of the hypothalamus. During intense thirst reversal was obtained of the signal role of the conditioned cue in accordance with the new quality of the alimentary reinforcement. Hypothalamo-cortical mechanisms of dominant motivation and its conditioned provision are discussed.