Early habituation, dishabituation and generalization induced in the visual centres by colour stimuli

Abstract Repetitive colour flashes (25msec: 1/sec) presented for 45 min to the atropinized eye of awakened rabbits elicited a significant decrease of responses recorded from the lateral geniculate nucleus and the visual cortex (habituation); whereas the responses of retina and optic tract did not change. In two of three series, in a significant number of experiments, periods of rest (15 min) or stimulation with complementary colour flashes elicited a rapid restitution of the habituated responses (dishabituation). However, in certain cases, light stimuli of complementary colour enhanced the amplitude decrease, indicating stimulus generalization. Histochemically. only a slight increase in acetylcholinesterase activity could be found after habituation.