Intrinsic signal optical imaging of brain function using short stimulus delivery intervals

Intrinsic signal optical imaging (ISOI) can be used to map cortical function and organization. Because its detected signal lasts 10+ s consisting of three phases, trials are typically collected using a long (tens of seconds) stimulus delivery interval (SDI) at the expense of efficiency, even when interested in mapping only the first signal phase (e.g., ISOI initial dip). It is unclear how the activity profile can change when stimuli are delivered at shorter intervals, and whether a short SDI can be implemented to improve efficiency. The goals of the present study are twofold: characterize the ISOI activity profile when multiple stimuli are delivered at 4 s intervals, and determine whether successful mapping can be attained from trials collected using an SDI of 4 s (offering >10× increase in efficiency). Our results indicate that four stimuli delivered 4 s apart evoke an activity profile different from the triphasic signal, consisting of signal dips in a series at the same frequency as the stimuli despite a strong rise in signal prior to the 2nd to 4th stimuli. Visualization of such signal dips is dependent on using a baseline immediately prior to every stimulus. Use of the 4-s SDI is confirmed to successfully map activity with a similar location in peak activity and increased areal extent and peak magnitude compared to using a long SDI. Additional experiments were performed to begin addressing issues such as SDI temporal jittering, response magnitude as a function of SDI duration, and application for successful mapping of cortical function topography.