Ag. Frolov et Og. Pavlova, FORMATION OF ESCAPE REACTIONS ON THE BASIS OF MOVEMENTS ELICITED BY STIMULATION OF THE MOTOR CORTEX IN DOGS, Zurnal vyssej nervnoj deatelnosti im. I.P. Pavlova, 48(3), 1998, pp. 422-430
The purpose of the study was to find out the possibility of instrument
alization of movements induced by stimulation of the motor cortex (MI)
in dogs. The scheme of conditioning was as follows. The electrical sh
ock applied to the right forepaw was used for a weak painful stimulati
on. In 3 s, the stimulation of the MI was added, which elicited the ri
ght hind limb flexion. The shock was switched off at the moment of the
hind limb lifting. After several trials, the shock began to elicit th
e hind limb flexion before the cortical stimulation. The scheme of con
ditioning excluded the possibility of instrumentalization of irrelevan
t chance movements. Prolonging the Shock by 2 s. after the cortical st
imulation led to extinction of acquired responses. Renewal of reinforc
ement of the hind limb movements by immediate switching off the shock
led to recovery of conditioned reactions. Thus, the instrumental natur
e of the responses has been proved. The obtained results are of partic
ular interest in connection with the findings that similar acquisition
of instrumental reaction on the basis of food reinforcement is imposs
ible. The results support the assumption that the ''instrumental'' con
ditioned connection can be addressed directly to the motor cortex.