Compensation and habituation in the cortical segment of the visceral analyzer

The processes of compensation and habituation in the S1 zone of the cerebral cortex in response to stimulation of the pelvic nerves were studied in experiments with anesthetized and immobilized cats. It was shown that after the unilateral shutdown of the cerebral cortex of one hemisphere, the properties and character of evoked potentials in the remaining, intact hemisphere and the reactions of the neurons to electrical stimulation of the visceral nerves are altered: a single system develops, characterized by a uniformity of the shape and of the latent periods of evoked potentials, as well as an increase in the area from which they are recorded. The neurons of the compensated hemisphere are transformed from monolaterally sensitive neurons to bilaterally sensitive. All these traits appear long after surgery. The process of habituation in the remaining, preserved cortical center to prolonged stimulation of the pelvic nerves is accelerated. The obtained data indicate the activation of learning mechanisms in the injured brain during its compensatory reorganization in zones of the brain where the afferent projections of the visceral nerves are represented.