Elsevier

NeuroImage

Volume 172, 15 May 2018, Pages 9-20
NeuroImage

Functional connectivity under six anesthesia protocols and the awake condition in rat brain

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.01.014Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • Each anesthesia protocol uniquely modulated functional connectivity (FC).

  • FC obtained under propofol and urethane anesthesia was most similar to the awake rats.

  • FC in α-chloralose and isoflurane-medetomidine groups resembled well the awake group.

  • FC in the isoflurane and medetomidine groups differed most from the awake rats.

  • These results can be exploited in FC study designs and data interpretation.

Abstract

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) is a translational imaging method with great potential in several neurobiologic applications. Most preclinical rsfMRI studies are performed in anesthetized animals, but the confounding effects of anesthesia on the measured functional connectivity (FC) are poorly understood. Therefore, we measured FC under six commonly used anesthesia protocols and compared the findings with data obtained from awake rats. The results demonstrated that each anesthesia protocol uniquely modulated FC. Connectivity patterns obtained under propofol and urethane anesthesia were most similar to that observed in awake rats. FC patterns in the α-chloralose and isoflurane-medetomidine combination groups had moderate to good correspondence with that in the awake group. The FC patterns in the isoflurane and medetomidine groups differed most from that in the awake rats. These results can be directly exploited in rsfMRI study designs to improve the data quality, comparability, and interpretation.

Keywords

Anesthetics
Awake
Functional connectivity
Magnetic resonance imaging
Functional
Rats

Abbreviations

AC
α-chloralose
BOLD
blood oxygenation level dependent
CC
correlation coefficient
CNS
central nervous system
DMN
default mode network
FC
functional connectivity
FDR
false discovery rate
fMRI
functional magnetic resonance imaging
ISO
isoflurane
MED
medetomidine
PRO
propofol
rsfMRI
resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging
URE
urethane

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