[Role of interoceptive afferentation in the activities of the cortical portion of the visual analyzer]

The experiments on diplacin-immobilized rats showed that stimulation of gastric and rectal mechanoreceptors caused noticeable changes in the control and light-induced impulse activity of neurons of the optic cortex (field 17). The predominant pattern of cell reactions were tonic changes of impulsation. They included both stimulatory and inhibitory effects. The latter occurred mostly as a result of stimulation of gastric mechanoreceptors. Changes in the evoked activity of those neurons involved most frequently enhancement or inhibition of responses, contrasting and stabilization of short-latent responses, and their masking with neuronal noise. The paper discusses the functional importance of the above changes in the control and evoked activities of neurons of the optic cortex during interoceptive effects as well as possible central pathways of their realization in the optic cortex.