Electrophysiological study in the infraorbital nerve of the rat: Spontaneous and evoked activity

• Published in: Journal of physics. Conference series Vol. 90; no. 1; p. 012101
• Main Authors: Albarracín, A L, Farfán, F D, Felice, C J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bristol IOP Publishing 01.11.2007
• Subjects: Algorithms; Continuous wavelet transform; Discharge; Mechanoreceptors; Nerves; Physics; Wavelet analysis; Wavelet transforms
• ISSN: 1742-6596; 1742-6588; 1742-6596
• DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/90/1/012101

In this work we present some studies in the afferent nerve of the rat vibrissae. Studies on spontaneous activity (SA) in this sensorial system are of long data. Nevertheless, SA recordings in the nerve of a single vibrissa have not been made until present. In this work, we use an algorithm based on signal decomposition with Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) to analyse the discharges of two nerves. The action potentials of both nerves were detected and the firing rates were calculated. These results suggest that the firing rate of one vibrissa innervation is low considering that this nerve contains hundred of fibers. In addition, we present preliminary studies suggesting important effects of the hair shaft length in the afferent discharge during the vibrissae movements. The experiments consisted in recording the nerve activity after the vibrissae were sectioned at two different levels. The results showed important differences in the signal energy contents. It suggests that the hair shaft length would produce a differential activation of the mechanoreceptors located in the vibrissae follicle.