Distribution in time and space of linked spikes in closed neural circuits of the sensorimotor cortex in the rabbit (a rhythmic defensive dominant)

Analysis of linked spike activity in simultaneously recorded neurons in the rabbit sensorimotor cortex identified 22 closed neural circuits consisting of three or four neurons. In experiments using a model of a defensive dominant, the distribution of linked spikes was analyzed in real time 1-3 weeks after imposition of a rhythmic (2 sec) activity on the rabbit. The analysis showed that events in which linked spikes in neuron pairs arose with 2-sec intervals could be displaced in time and space in one direction along the closed neuron circuit. Two-second intervals between linked spikes in neighboring pairs could be "conjugated," i.e., the end of one interval in one pair was beginning of the 2-sec interval in the neighboring pair. "Conjugated" intervals of neighboring pairs could promote "pass-though" of information relating to the properties of the stimulus via the closed neuron circuit, thus completing a complete cycle of passage of the information through it. There could be several such cycles in a period of 1 min. The longest "passthrough" transfers lasted 10-12 sec. Complex variants of information transmission were identified, with not only pass-through transfers of the 2-sec interval from one neuron pair to another, but also repeat occurrences of linked spikes with this interval in any of the pairs constituting the circuit being analyzed. The longest transfers lasted 16 and 22 sec. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.