Depth-resolved imaging of functional activation in the rat cerebral cortex using optical coherence tomography

Abstract

Co-registered optical coherence tomography (OCT) and video microscopy of the rat somatosensory cortex were acquired simultaneously through a thinned skull during forepaw electrical stimulation. Fractional signal change measured by OCT revealed a functional signal time course corresponding to the hemodynamic signal measurement made with video microscopy. OCT can provide high-resolution, cross-sectional images of functional neurovascular activation and may offer a new tool for basic neuroscience research in the important rat cerebral cortex model.