Abstract
Locomotor movements occurring spontaneously in cats under light anesthesia or evoked by subthalamic stimulation in the fields of Forel and zona incerta were rapidly arrested or reduced in amplitude and frequency after stimulation of the "non-specific" nuclei of the thalamus. Arrest occurred 1-2 seconds after stimulation and persisted for 1-2 seconds after cessation of stimulation, but normally could not be maintained for longer than 10-20 seconds. Thalamic stimulation in intact, in decorticate, and in caudatectomized cats did not affect tonic movements elicited from the subthalamus or spinal reflexes. The experiments indicate that the "non-specific" thalamo-cortical projection system has descending projections capable of inhibiting subcortical areas involved in the rhythmicity of locomotor movements.

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