Effects of Dimethyl Sulfoxide on Neuronal Response Characteristics in Deep Layers of Rat Barrel Cortex

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a chemical often used as a solvent for waterinsoluble drugs. In this study, we evaluated the effect of intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of DMSO on neural response characteristics (in 1200–1500 μm depth) of the rat barrel cortex.
DMSO solution was prepared in 10% v/v concentration and injected into the lateral ventricle of rats. Neuronal spontaneous activity and neuronal responses to deflection of the principal whisker (PW) and adjacent whisker (AW) were recorded in barrel cortex. A condition test ratio (CTR) was used to measure inhibitory receptive fields in barrel cortex.
The results showed that both PW and AW evoked ON and OFF responses, neuronal spontaneous activity and inhibitory receptive fields did not change following ICV administration of DMSO.
Results of this study suggest that acute ICV administration of 10% DMSO did not modulate the electrophysiological characteristics of neurons in the l deep ayers of rat barrel cortex.