Individual variability in functional connectivity architecture of the mouse brain

Xenia Gofman,Itamar Kahn,Eyal Bergmann,Alexandra Kavushansky

doi:10.1038/s42003-020-01472-5

Xenia Gofman, Itamar Kahn + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-020-01472-5

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Abstract

In recent years precision fMRI has emerged in human brain research, demonstrating characterization of individual differences in brain organization. However, mechanistic investigations to the sources of individual variability are limited in humans and thus require animal models. Here, we used resting-state fMRI in awake mice to quantify the contribution of individual variation to the functional architecture of the mouse cortex. We found that the mouse connectome is also characterized by stable individual features that support connectivity-based identification. Unlike in humans, we found that individual variation is homogeneously distributed in sensory and association networks. Finally, connectome-based predictive modeling of motor behavior in the rotarod task revealed that individual variation in functional connectivity explained behavioral variability. Collectively, these results establish the feasibility of precision fMRI in mice and lay the foundation for future mechanistic investigations of individual brain organization and pre-clinical studies of brain disorders in the context of personalized medicine.

Highlights

In recent years precision fMRI has emerged in human brain research, demonstrating characterization of individual differences in brain organization
We found evidence for stable individual features in the mouse connectome, that allows above chance level identification of individual mice from a group
Comparing individual variation between sensory and association networks, we found that the differences observed between those cortical systems in humans are not well recapitulated in mice

Summary

Introduction

In recent years precision fMRI has emerged in human brain research, demonstrating characterization of individual differences in brain organization. Connectome-based predictive modeling of motor behavior in the rotarod task revealed that individual variation in functional connectivity explained behavioral variability. These results establish the feasibility of precision fMRI in mice and lay the foundation for future mechanistic investigations of individual brain organization and pre-clinical studies of brain disorders in the context of personalized medicine. We link individual differences in functional connectivity to behavioral variability in the accelerating rotating rod task (rotarod), which assesses motor performance These findings indicate that mouse functional networks are characterized by behaviorally relevant individual variation and lay the foundation for future mechanistic investigations of sources of individual variability and pre-clinical studies of brain disorders in the context of personalized medicine

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