Activation of single whisker barrel in rat brain localized by functional magnetic resonance imaging

摘要

The previously established cortical represen- tation of rat whiskers in layer IV of the cortex contains distinct cylindrical columns of cellular aggregates, which are termed barrels and correlate in a one-to-one relation to whiskers on the contralateral rat face. In the present study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the rat brain was used to map whisker barrel activation during mechanical up-down movement (+ -2.5 mm amplitude at 8 Hz) of single/multiple whisker(s).