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Thermal images of somatic sensory cortex obtained through the skull of rat and gerbil

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Abstract

Infrared images of the skull surface were obtained in urethane-anesthetized rats and gerbils before, during and after mechanical stimulation of the face and mystacial vibrissae on one side. Areas of increased temperature on the skull, localized mainly over the face area of the primary somatosensory cortex contralateral to the side of stimulation, appeared within 4–5 s after the onset of stimulation. Rarely, such temperature change was recorded bilaterally. Temperatures did not remain high on the intact skull in rats, but fell to baseline within minutes after stimulus onset regardless of stimulus duration. In rats in which the skull had been thinned and in gerbils with intact skull, temperatures remained elevated during the course of stimulation. We were unable to resolve the activation of individual vibrissae.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurophysiology and Waisman Center on Mental Retardation and Human Development, University of Wisconsin, 53705, Madison, WI, USA

    John F. Brugge

  2. Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

    Paul W. F. Poon

  3. Department of Physiology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Paul W. F. Poon & B. -M. Wu

  4. Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Albert T. P. So, Francis H. Y. Chan & F. K. Lam

Authors
  1. John F. Brugge
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  2. Paul W. F. Poon
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  3. Albert T. P. So
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  4. B. -M. Wu
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  5. Francis H. Y. Chan
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  6. F. K. Lam
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Brugge, J.F., Poon, P.W.F., So, A.T.P. et al. Thermal images of somatic sensory cortex obtained through the skull of rat and gerbil. Exp Brain Res 106, 7–18 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00241352

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00241352

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