Cha Myeoung Hoon, Kim Dae Shik, Cho Zang-Hee, Sohn Jin-Hun, Chung Myung-Ae, Lee Hye-Jung, Nam Taick Sang, Lee Bae Hwan
Department of Physiology, Brain Korea 21 Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Neurosci Lett. 2009 Oct 23;464(2):117-21. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2009.08.024. Epub 2009 Aug 12.
Recent advances in optical imaging techniques have made it possible to monitor neural activity and provided powerful tools to reveal the spatiotemporal patterns of neural activity. We used optical imaging to determine whether nerve injury affects excitability of the sensory cortex. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to neuropathic surgery consisting of a tight ligation and transection of the left tibial and sural nerves while under pentobarbital anesthesia. The rats were reanesthetized with urethane two weeks post-operatively, and the exposed cortex surfaces were stained with a voltage-sensitive dye (di-2-ANEPEQ). After electrical stimulation of the receptive field, optical signals from the cerebral cortex were recorded using an optical imaging system. Increased optical intensity and an enlarged area of activation were observed in the cerebral cortex of neuropathic rats during electrical stimulation compared to normal or sham-operated rats. Higher electric stimulation resulted in more intensity and a larger area of activation in neuropathic rats. These results suggest that cortical excitability, resulting from peripheral stimulation, may be affected by nerve injury, which indicates a degree of neural plasticity.
光学成像技术的最新进展使得监测神经活动成为可能，并提供了强大的工具来揭示神经活动的时空模式。我们使用光学成像来确定神经损伤是否会影响感觉皮层的兴奋性。在戊巴比妥麻醉下，对雄性Sprague-Dawley大鼠进行神经病变手术，包括紧密结扎和切断左侧胫神经和腓肠神经。术后两周用乌拉坦再次麻醉大鼠，并用电压敏感染料（di-2-ANEPEQ）对暴露的皮层表面进行染色。在对感受野进行电刺激后，使用光学成像系统记录来自大脑皮层的光信号。与正常或假手术大鼠相比，在电刺激期间，神经病变大鼠的大脑皮层观察到光强度增加和激活区域扩大。更高的电刺激导致神经病变大鼠的光强度更高和激活区域更大。这些结果表明，由外周刺激引起的皮层兴奋性可能受到神经损伤的影响，这表明存在一定程度的神经可塑性。
