Abstract
Rodent models are developed to enhance understanding of the underlying biology of different brain disorders. However, before interpreting findings from animal models in a translational aspect to understand human disease, a fundamental step is to first have knowledge of similarities and differences of the biological systems studied. In this study, we analyzed and verified four known networks termed: default mode network, motor network, dorsal basal ganglia network, and ventral basal ganglia network using resting state functional MRI (rsfMRI) in humans and rats. Our work supports the notion that humans and rats have common robust resting state brain networks and that rsfMRI can be used as a translational tool when validating animal models of brain disorders. In the future, rsfMRI may be used, in addition to short-term interventions, to characterize longitudinal effects on functional brain networks after long-term intervention in humans and rats.
Highlights
Many rodent models of brain disorders and disease exist [1,2,3,4], which highlights the need and possibilities of robust experimental methods that are available in both humans and rats
Resting State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging is used to detect functionally linked brain regions that show a synchronized pattern of spontaneous fluctuation in Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) contrast, when the subject is in a state of rest, i.e. in the absence of a task or stimulus paradigm [6]
When the seed in the rat brain was placed in the Rostral Anterior Cingulate Cortex approximately Bregma in mm: +/-0.5; 2.5; 1.7 the Default Mode Network” (DMN) was distinguished, which included retrosplenial cortex, pre limbic cortex, infra limbic cortex, orbital cortex, the cingulate cortex, septal nuclei, thalamic nuclei and a bilateral anticorrelated motor-sensory region (Fig. 2 and S6 Fig. for full anatomical coverage)
Summary
Many rodent models of brain disorders and disease exist [1,2,3,4], which highlights the need and possibilities of robust experimental methods that are available in both humans and rats. These methods can be used in studies that aim at understanding biological systems in human disease [5]. Several networks with synchronized activity patterns exist and one example is the “Default Mode Network” (DMN) [7,8,9]. The DMN was first characterized by Raichle and co-workers [10] who showed that brain oxygen uptake, using Positron Emission Tomography
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