[Generalization of activation reaction extinction during consecutive stimulation of different parts of the brain]

The process of extinction of the brain activation reactions ("arousal") was studied in chronic experiments on cats with implanted electrodes during repeated electrical stimulation of alternated points in the cortex and in the brain stem reticular formation. Extinction of the reactions achieved by stimulation of one point resulted in the loss of excitability both at this point and in other activating structures at different levels of the brain. The sequence of stimulated structures was of no importance. A possibility is suggested of development of a generalized inhibition in the neural net of the non-specific reticular system of the brain which may be inciated in any point of this system: in the brain stem, in the thalamus or in the cortex.