Brown Trecia A, Gati Joseph S, Hughes Sarah M, Nixon Pam L, Menon Ravi S, Lomber Stephen G
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario; Cerebral Systems Laboratory, University of Western Ontario;
Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario.
J Vis Exp. 2014 Feb 19(84):e50872. doi: 10.3791/50872.
Current knowledge of sensory processing in the mammalian auditory system is mainly derived from electrophysiological studies in a variety of animal models, including monkeys, ferrets, bats, rodents, and cats. In order to draw suitable parallels between human and animal models of auditory function, it is important to establish a bridge between human functional imaging studies and animal electrophysiological studies. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is an established, minimally invasive method of measuring broad patterns of hemodynamic activity across different regions of the cerebral cortex. This technique is widely used to probe sensory function in the human brain, is a useful tool in linking studies of auditory processing in both humans and animals and has been successfully used to investigate auditory function in monkeys and rodents. The following protocol describes an experimental procedure for investigating auditory function in anesthetized adult cats by measuring stimulus-evoked hemodynamic changes in auditory cortex using fMRI. This method facilitates comparison of the hemodynamic responses across different models of auditory function thus leading to a better understanding of species-independent features of the mammalian auditory cortex.
目前对哺乳动物听觉系统中感觉处理的认识主要来自于对多种动物模型的电生理研究，这些动物模型包括猴子、雪貂、蝙蝠、啮齿动物和猫。为了在人类和动物听觉功能模型之间找到合适的相似之处，在人类功能成像研究和动物电生理研究之间建立一座桥梁很重要。功能磁共振成像（fMRI）是一种既定的、微创的测量大脑皮层不同区域血流动力学活动广泛模式的方法。该技术被广泛用于探测人类大脑中的感觉功能，是连接人类和动物听觉处理研究的有用工具，并已成功用于研究猴子和啮齿动物的听觉功能。以下方案描述了一种通过使用fMRI测量麻醉成年猫听觉皮层中刺激诱发的血流动力学变化来研究听觉功能的实验程序。这种方法有助于比较不同听觉功能模型之间的血流动力学反应，从而更好地理解哺乳动物听觉皮层的物种无关特征。
