Hippocampal theta activity in the acute cerveau isolé cat

In three cerveau isole cats, cortical and hippocampal EEG activity were recorded. In the cortical records, spindles alternated with low-voltage activity, whereas theta activity dominated in the hippocampus. The amount and frequency of theta were similar to those described previously for the pretrigeminal cat. In confirmation of previous results on rats, although cortical EEG activity differs in cerveau isole cat and pretrigeminal cat, both preparations show domination of theta activity in the hippocampus. It is concluded that the mesencephalic transection eliminates inhibitory effects from the lower brainstem on generators of the theta rhythm.