title: Ultrasonic analysis of tremorine and cold tremor activity in unanesthetized rats.
abstract: In order to quantify the tremorine and cold tremor activity in unanesthetized rats, a new ultrasonic motion transducer method was used. Both kinds of activity are reported as vibratory body motion that occurred between 18-32 Hz as determined by spectral analysis. The recorded signal was analyzed and its power spectrum was obtained through a fast Fourier transform operation. It was found that a negative linear relation occurs between shiver amplitude and ambient temperature (r = 0.999). A negative linear relation also occurs between metabolic rate and ambient temperature (r = 0.997). In addition, a positive linear relation between metabolic rate and cold shiver exists (r = 0.999). Both tremorine (30 mg/kg, i.p.) and cold tremor (Ta = 2-22 degrees C) activity monitored by the ultrasonic method were completely abolished by premedication with 1 mg/kg atropine. Thus, it appears that the advantages of this tremor detection method are that is non-invasive and non-contact. Therefore, the ultrasonic method provides a good choice for quantifying tremorine and cold tremor activity in unanesthetized animals during studies of thermoregulatory physiology or motor disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D003080:Cold Temperature; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012768:Shivering / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D014159:Transducers; D014203:Tremorine / Q000633:toxicity*; D014465:Ultrasonics
chemical_list: D014203:Tremorine