Functional organization in cortical barrels of normal and vibrissae‐damaged mice: A (3H) 2‐deoxyglucose study

The large mystacial vibrissae on the faces of rodents have punctate representations in all stations in the central trigeminal pathway, including layer IV of the somatosensory cortex (SmI). The cortical whisker correlates, multicellular units termed barrels, are not present at birth, and damage to the vibrissae during the first postnatal week results in altered adult cytoarchitectonics The anatomical effects of vibrissae damage in the cortex have been well documented; here, we investigated the functional organization of altered SmI barrels with a high‐resolution 2‐deoxyglucose (2‐DG) technique (Durham et al., '81, J. Neurosci. 1:519). The middle row of vibrissae was cauterized in 1‐, 2‐, 3‐, 4‐, or 5‐day‐old mice, and the animals were allowed to survive to sexual maturity. Various combinations of vibrissae were clipped acutely 24 hours prior to injection of 2–4 mCi of (3H)2‐DG. Mice actively explored an empty cage for 60 minutes, stimulating the remaining vibrissae. The mice then were perfused and their brains prepared for paraffin histology and emulsion autoradiography.