Time course of odorant- and trigeminal-induced activation in the human brain: an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

It is well known that most odorants stimulate the trigeminal system but the time course of the brain regions activated by these chemical stimulations remains poorly documented, especially regarding the trigeminal system. This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study compares brain activations resulting from the contrast between two odorant conditions (one bimodal odor and one relatively pure olfactory stimulant) according to the duration of the stimulation (i.e. one inhalation, or three or six successive inhalations). The results show striking differences in the main brain regions activated according to these durations. The caudate nucleus and the orbitofrontal cortex are only involved in short-duration stimulations, and the posterior insular cortex and post-central gyrus (SI) are only activated by long duration stimulations. Different regions of the frontal, temporal and occipital lobe are activated depending on the duration but mainly during medium-duration stimulations. These results expand on the findings of previous studies and contribute to the description of temporal networks in trigeminal perception.

New fluorescence imaging probe with high spatial resolution for in vivo applications.

A new fiberized fluorescence imaging probe is presented. This device can potentially be used for a wide range of biological or medical applications. By exploiting the chromatic aberrations of gradient index lenses, the excitation blue or near-UV excitation light is focused on the sample surface, while the red fluorescence signal is efficiently launched back to collecting fibers. The excitation fiber is single mode at the working wavelength so that a resolution of 5 microm is obtained over a scanning area of several square millimeters. Experimental fluorescence images are presented. They concern either self-fabricated fluorescent microsamples or views of leaves that constitute an example of biological tissues analysis. The probe can also be adapted for spectroscopic investigations.