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Abstract #3538

Spontaneous Fluctuations of BOLD Signal: Effect of Anesthesia and Functional Significance

Robert N.S Sachdev1, Basavaraju G. Sanganahalli2, Peter Herman2,3, Fahmeed Hyder2,4

1Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; 2Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; 3Human Physiology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; 4Biomedical Engineering, Yale University


We measured spontaneous fluctuations of BOLD signal together with whisker functional stimulation in rat cortex with two slightly different baseline states: lightly anesthetized with domitor and awakened animals (from domitor) to explore the connection between power of spontaneous fluctuations and magnitude of functional response. The same experimental paradigm was applied during the anesthesia and the waking the rats. Both anesthetized and awakened rodents showed similar power in the frequency spectrum of spontaneous fluctuations, but the awakened animals showed higher variability in their functional responses. Therefore difference in functional response cannot be explained by the effect of baseline.