Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in rodents holds great promise for advancing our knowledge about human brain function. However, the use of anesthetics to immobilize rodents during fMRI experiments has restricted the type of questions that can be addressed using this technique. Here we describe an innovative procedure to confine rodents in order to carry out fMRI without the need of anesthetics (including initial anesthesia). We show that with 8-10 days of acclimation rats can be conscious and remain still during fMRI experiments under minimal stress. In addition, we provide fMRI results of conscious rodents in a variety of commonly used fMRI experimental paradigms and we demonstrate the improved quality of these scans by comparing results when the same rodents were scanned under anesthesia. We show that our awake scanning procedure permits an improved evaluation of brain networks and brain response to external stimuli with minimal movement artifact. The present study demonstrates the feasibility and value of fMRI in awake rodents, which should provide more direct, forward and reverse, translational opportunities regarding brain functional correspondences between human and rodent research.
from Physiology via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1oE2PqG
via IFTTT
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου
Σημείωση: Μόνο ένα μέλος αυτού του ιστολογίου μπορεί να αναρτήσει σχόλιο.