Unitary activity in the suprarhinal cortex of the rat and its modulation after lateral amygdala stimulation

Abstract Unitary responses in the suprarhinal cortex were studied in anesthetized rats. Lateral amygdala stimulation gave rise to two types of cortical responses: (i) an excitatory response (59%) characterized either by a single spike discharge, or by a burst of two to four spikes, or (ii) an inhibitory response (41%) affecting cortical neurons which exhibited spontaneous discharge. The duration of inhibition appeared to be related to the intensity of stimulation and the spontaneous discharge frequency.