Sensory Deprivation in the Cat

Introduction This study was designed to contribute further understanding of the extent to which brain function is dependent upon the tonic inflow of impulses from sensory receptors. Electroencephalographic and arterial blood pressure monitoring of the result of varying degrees of partial sensory deprivation in the waking cat is the subject of this report. Investigations of the functional organization of afferent systems have been concerned principally with the introduction of a variety of stimuli and observation of the clinical or electrophysiologic results of such excitation. Recently, experiments on the effects of sensory deprivation in man have directed attention to the neurophysiologic concomitants of reduction in absolute intensity of the sensory input which has been shown by Lilly12,13to alter markedly the mental and emotional state of intact humans. The electroencephalograms of eight human subjects observed by Heron, Doane, and Scott9while undergoing partial sensory deprivation in an isolation chamber