McLaughlin D F, Sonty R V, Juliano S L
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Program in Neuroscience, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, USA.
Somatosens Mot Res. 1998;15(4):253-68. doi: 10.1080/08990229870673.
Little is known about the function and structure of ferret somatosensory cortex. We used anatomical methods and multi-unit recordings to characterize the cytoarchitecture, functional responses and topography of the forepaw representation in ferret somatosensory cortex. The representation of the cutaneous ferret forepaw encompasses approximately the caudal half of the posterior sigmoid gyrus. The posterior sigmoid gyrus and coronal sulcus contain unique cytoarchitectonic fields that conform in large part to earlier descriptions of somatosensory regions in the cat. The cytoarchitectonic regions form mediolateral bands that comprise areas 4, 3a, 3b, 1, and 2 (from rostral to caudal). We studied most extensively areas 3a and 3b for functional responses to somatic stimuli; our data indicate that ferret somatosensory cortex contains at least two representations of the forepaw in these two areas. Our data also suggest that within ferret somatosensory cortex, the morphological and submodality features gradually, rather than abruptly, distinguish themselves as unique cortical fields.
雪貂体感皮层的功能和结构鲜为人知。我们使用解剖学方法和多单元记录来描述雪貂体感皮层中前爪表征的细胞结构、功能反应和拓扑结构。雪貂前爪皮肤的表征大约涵盖后乙状回的后半部分。后乙状回和冠状沟包含独特的细胞结构区域，这些区域在很大程度上与之前对猫体感区域的描述一致。细胞结构区域形成内侧-外侧带，包括4区、3a区、3b区、1区和2区（从嘴侧到尾侧）。我们对3a区和3b区进行了最广泛的研究，以了解对躯体刺激的功能反应；我们的数据表明，雪貂体感皮层在这两个区域至少包含前爪的两种表征。我们的数据还表明，在雪貂体感皮层内，形态和亚模态特征是逐渐而非突然地将自身区分为独特的皮层区域。
