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Frog Frontal Organ Neurophysiology |
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Light stimuli for neurophysiological recordings
are provided by two computer-controlled optical bench systems with
optically-stabilized xenon arc lamps as light sources. Data acquisition
and stimulus control use custom software written by former Research
Associate Chris Borland. |
Recordings from units originating in the frontal
organ (an light-sensitive outgrowth of the pineal that is homologous to
the parapineal lobe of the salamander pineal) are carried out in an RF
shielded enclosure to minimize disturbance from electromagnetic noise.
Two cube coils are used to cancel the horizontal and vertical
components of the ambient field. A system of three orthogonal coils is
then used to produce the stimulus fields that have a constant
intensity, but differing alignments. Experiments typically consist of
systematically varying the azimuth of a horizontal 0.1 mTesla field
while stimulating the frontal organ with light of a known wavelength
and intensity. |
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