Effect of chronic protein malnutrition on non-specific thalamo-cortical evoked potentials in the rat

Cortical incremental responses to repetitive thalamic stimulation were studied in normal and protein malnourished rats. The rate of cortical incrementation ipsilateral to the thalamic site of stimulation varied as a function of stimulus repetition rate but was unaffected by dietary treatment. The waveform of the ipsilateral response likewise was unaffected by protein malnutrition and a characteristic positive-negative-positive response was observed. In the cortex contralateral to thalamic stimulation, seven of eight malnourished animals exhibited a surface positive peak, in some cases quite prominent, at a latency at which seven of eight normals exhibited a prominent surface negativity. These results are discussed in relation to reported effects of malnutrition on sensory evoked potentials.