Effects of urethane anaesthesia on sensory processing in the rat barrel cortex revealed by combined optical imaging and electrophysiology

The spatiotemporal dynamics of neuronal assemblies evoked by sensory stimuli have not yet been fully characterised, especially the extent to which they are modulated by prevailing brain states. In order to examine this issue, we induced different levels of anaesthesia, distinguished by specific electroencephalographic indices, and compared somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) with voltage-sensitive dye imaging (VSDI) responses in the rat barrel cortex evoked by whisker deflection. At deeper levels of anaesthesia, all responses were reduced in amplitude but, surprisingly, only VSDI responses exhibited prolonged activation resulting in a delayed return to baseline. Further analysis of the optical signal demonstrated that the reduction in response amplitude was constant across the area of activation, resulting in a global down-scaling of the population response. The manner in which the optical signal relates to the various neuronal generators that produce the SEP signal is also discussed. These data provide information regarding the impact of anaesthetic agents on the brain, and show the value of combining spatial analyses from neuroimaging approaches with more traditional electrophysiological techniques.