Differential effects of inferior temporal cortex lesions upon visual and auditory-evoked potentials in the amygdala of the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus)

Visual-evoked potentials (VEPs) and auditory-evoked potentials (AEPs) were elicited from amygdala nuclei and inferior temporal (IT) cortex in chaired, alert squirrel monkeys to diffuse flash and click stimuli. VEPs were recorded from electrodes placed in basalis lateralis amygdalae (BLA) and basalis medialis amygdalae (BMA) while AEPs could also be obtained from additional electrode sites in basalis accessorius medialis (BAM), centralis amygdalae (CeA), and lateralis amygdalae (LA). The amygdala-evoked potentials resulting from stimulation of the two modalities were similar in terms of component configuration. AEPs recorded from the IT cortex had shorter latencies than the amygdala VEPs that were recorded. Both modalities of stimulation elicited potentials with shorter onset latencies in the amygdala than those recorded from the surface of IT cortex. Bilateral ablation of the IT cortex eliminated VEPs recorded from the BMA but not the BLA amygdala region. AEPs recorded from BMA as well as other amygdala areas were not consistently affected by these IT cortical ablations.