Spatio-temporal analysis of stimuli-modulated spontaneous low frequency oscillations

Abstract

In this paper, the spatio-temporal architecture of the stimulation-modulated spontaneous low frequency oscillation (LFO) in the SD rat’s somatosensory cortex is studied by optical imaging (OI) technology. After the electrical stimulation, it is observed that the phases of the LFO signals are changed, the amplitudes are increased, and most importantly, the signals in the bilateral somatosensory cortex tend to be synchronized. Based on these phenomena, the origin of the LFO signals is discussed. It is argued that the arteriole vasomotion may be the major contribution to the LFO signals under green illumination (546±10 nm). The phase relationship among the LFO signals of arteries, veins and cortex has also been studied. It is found that there are phase differences between the LFO signal of veins and that of cortex under red illumination (605±10 nm), the signal of cortex leads that of veins by 0.6–1.0 s, while under green illumination, no obvious differences are observed and the reason may be that the mechanism of the LFO signals of cortexes and vessels are different.