\(\textit {In vivo}\) monitoring of chemically evoked activity patterns in the rat trigeminal ganglion

  • Albeit lacking a sense of smell, anosmic patients maintain a reduced ability to distinguish different volatile chemicals by relying exclusively on their trigeminal system (TS). To elucidate differences in the neuronal representation of these volatile substances in the TS, we performed voltage-sensitive dye imaging (VSDI) in the rat trigeminal ganglion (TG) \(\textit {in vivo}\). We demonstrated that stimulus-specific patterns of bioelectrical activity occur within the TG upon nasal administration of ten different volatile chemicals. With regard to spatial differences between the evoked trigeminal response patterns, these substances could be sorted into three groups. Signal intensity and onset latencies were also dependent on the administered stimulus and its concentration. We conclude that particular compounds detected by the TS are represented by (1) a specific spatial response pattern, (2) the signal intensity, and (3) onset latencies within the pattern. Jointly, these trigeminal representations may contribute to the surprisingly high discriminative skills of anosmic patients.

Download full text files

Export metadata

Additional Services

Share in Twitter Search Google Scholar
Metadaten
Author:Matthias LübbertGND, Jessica KyeremeGND, Markus RothermelGND, Christian H.R. WetzelORCiDGND, Klaus-Peter HoffmannGND, Hanns HattGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hbz:294-67905
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2013.00064
Parent Title (English):Frontiers in systems neuroscience
Publisher:Frontiers Research Foundation
Place of publication:Lausanne
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2019/12/06
Date of first Publication:2013/10/08
Publishing Institution:Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsbibliothek
Tag:chemethesis; odorant detection; trigeminal chemoperception; trigeminal sensory neurons; trigeminal system; voltage-sensitive dye imaging
Volume:7
First Page:64-1
Last Page:64-13
Institutes/Facilities:Lehrstuhl für Zellphysiologie
Lehrstuhl für Allgemeine Zoologie und Neurobiologie
open_access (DINI-Set):open_access
faculties:Fakultät für Biologie und Biotechnologie
Licence (English):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY 3.0 Unported - Attribution 3.0 Unported