Abstract
In rats anaesthetised with pentobarbitonc, somatosensory evoked potentials, produced by stimulation of contralatcral or ipsilateral forepaws were used tc measure the activity in different neuronal pathways. Computer derived averages of 32 consecutive responses yielded a stable and consistent measurement of the evoked potentials. The drugs were applied to the cerebral cortex by using cortical cup technique and changes were measured in evoked potentials. Coriical application of alloferin increased the amplitude of the early negative wave of the cortical evoked potentials. This effect of alloferin was blocked by prior treatment of the cortex with eserine. It appears that the excitant effect of alloferin on the cortex was the result of disinhibition of cortical cholinergic inhibitory mechanism.
