Laser-Doppler flowmetry utilizing a thinned skull cranial window preparation and automated stimulation. Brain Res Brain Res Protoc 1998 Sep;3(1):14-21
Date
10/10/1998Pubmed ID
9767083DOI
10.1016/s1385-299x(98)00016-6Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0032171017 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 21 CitationsAbstract
For several decades, cranial windows have been used to investigate questions relating to cerebral blood flow and its regulation. In general, these techniques have utilized either 'open' cranial windows for the direct observation of the intracranial vasculature, or 'closed' cranial windows in which the skull and dura are removed and replaced with a clear seal, such as a coverslip. Here we describe a method of studying blood flow responses elicited by the physiological stimulus of whisker movement while using a 'thinned skull' cranial window created over the rat whisker-barrel cortex. This method employing an automated whisker stimulator coupled with laser-Doppler flowmetry focused through the thinned skull cranial window, is less invasive than other cranial window techniques, and allows for the study of the effects of stimulation parameters and systemically administered compounds on whisker movement elicited blood flow responses. Automated whisker stimulation and data collection also allow for precise temporal averaging of laser-Doppler measured responses, leading to increased precision in determining the true shape of the evoked blood flow response pattern.
Author List
Gerrits RJ, Stein EA, Greene ASAuthor
Ron Gerrits BS,PhD Faculty in the Biomedical Engineering department at Milwaukee School of EngineeringMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AnimalsAutomation
Cerebrovascular Circulation
Laser-Doppler Flowmetry
Movement
Physical Stimulation
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Skull
Stereotaxic Techniques
Vibrissae