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Abstract #5248

Poloxamer: a new means to recover functional network information in the rodent’s deep brain structures

Georges Hankov1,2,3,4, Giovanna Diletta Ielacqua1,4, Basil Künnecke2, Thomas Mueggler2, Markus von Kienlin2, and Markus Rudin1,3,4

1Institute for Biomedical Engineering, ETH and University Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 2Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, Neuroscience Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland, 3Neuroscience Center Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 4Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

In the past years, functional MRI studies in rodents have become more frequent. The signal losses in gradient-echo EPI due to the increased sensitivity to magnetic susceptibility differences at higher magnetic field, however, make fMRI studies of deep brain structures difficult. Here we propose the use of Poloxamer, a non-toxic amphiphilic triblock copolymer well known for its thermo-reversible properties and pharmaceutical application to fill up the air cavities in the rodent middle and external ear canals. This practical method considerably increases geometric fidelity of the functional images, opening up the possibility to longitudinally investigate rodent’s deep brain networks.

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