ACTION POTENTIALS IN "MOTOR" CORTEX EVOKED BY PERIPHERAL NERVE STIMULATION

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Abstract
Using macaque monkeys under barbiturate anesthesia, single square pulse electrical stimuli were applied to various peripheral nerves. Recordings were made of the evoked cortical action potentials. The contralateral responsive area was mapped; it included both the postcentral and precentral gyri. Postcentral and precentral responses were of the same magnitude (300-500 microvolts) and the same general wave form. Stimulation of isolated skin or muscle nerves gave identical results. Acute ablation of the postcentral gyri bilaterally in combination with the ipsilateral precentral gyrus and the entire cerebellum did not alter the response in the remaining precentral gyrus. The extent of the surgical ablations was confirmed by serial reconstruction of the brains of the operated animals. These expts. suggest the existence of an afferent neural system from the periphery to the precentral cortex which does not include the postcentral cortex or cerebellum.

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