Multimodality (auditory, visual and somatosensory) evoked potentials in the sand rat, Psammomys obesus

Multimodality (auditory, visual and somatosensory) evoked potentials were recorded in the sand rat (Psammomys obesus) and compared to those obtained in albino rats, under almost identical conditions. Clear responses could be obtained from each species. The evoked potentials from the sand rat were qualitatively similar in waveform, latency and amplitude to those recorded in albino rats. Since there is a strain of sand rat which develops diabetes when on standard chow and since the sand rat has adapted to the desert environment, further study should involve evoked potential recordings in sand rats during hyper- and hypothermia and in diabetic sand rats.