Figure 7.
Return of cortical function in aged rats is equivalent to young adult rats. Return of cortical function in aged rats is equivalent to young adult rats. (A) Representative data from functional imaging of the initial dip in aged and young adult animals that underwent permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) and received whisker stimulation treatment immediately post-occlusion. Functional imaging was conducted prior, during, and 24 hours following pMCAO and whisker stimulation treatment. Both young adult and aged rats regained evoked functional response comparable to baseline after 90 minutes of whisker stimulation treatment. Linear grayscale bar indicates intrinsic signal amplitude (fractional change FC ×10−4). Scale bar indicates 4 mm. (B, C) Group baseline is plotted with 120 minutes of post-occlusion stimulus period data and 24-hour re-assessment data for each graph. Means and standard errors are provided for the area (left) and amplitude (right) of the ipsiischemic C2 initial dip (B) and overshoot (C) phases of evoked functional response to whisker stimulation before and following pMCAO. Data in panels A, B, and C are from Lay and others (2012); used with permission of authors and publisher.