Basavaraju G. Sanganahalli1, Peter Herman1,2, Hal Blumenfeld3, Fahmeed Hyder1,4
1Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; 2Institute of Human Physiology and Clinical Experimental Research, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; 3Neurology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; 4Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
We investigated the cortical hyperemic responses to forepaw stimulation under α-chloralose and domitor anesthesia. We evaluated the frequency-dependent activation of rat somatosensory cortex at 11.7T for two anesthetics. BOLD/CBV responses peaked at 3Hz stimulation under α-chloralose and at 9 Hz under domitor anesthesia. The magnitude of the responses was significantly higher under α-chloralose as compared to domitor. Differences in baseline spontaneous neuronal activity may be responsible for differential response magnitudes in BOLD and CBV under these two anesthetics. These results will benefit interpretation of fMRI experiments in anesthetized rodents as well as the understanding of brain function.