Sensitivity to thermal stimulation in prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) after bilateral anesthetization of the facial pits.
Six yearling prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) were exposed to thermal stimuli prior to and after bilateral anesthetization of their facial pits with 2% xylocaine solution. This treatment eliminates trigeminally mediated electrophysiological responses of the pits to thermal stimulation. Nevertheless, the rattlesnakes continued to exhibit behavioral responses to thermal cues after anesthetization of the pits. An auxiliary infrared-sensitive system, nociceptors, or the common temperature sense could be responsible for these findings.
D000818:Animals; D006257:Head / Q000294:innervation*; D007259:Infrared Rays; D009055:Mouth / Q000294:innervation*; D009619:Nociceptors / Q000502:physiology; D012911:Snakes / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013823:Thermoreceptors / Q000502:physiology*; D013697:Thermosensing / Q000502:physiology