Abstract #3396

Williams S, McKie S, Deakin B, De Groote C

Ketamine is a widely used drug to model schizophrenia in humans and rodents. We used pharmacological-challenge fMRI (pMRI) to study the effect of ketamine on blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) responses in the rat brain. Gradient-echo images covering the whole brain were acquired at 7T before and for 65 mins after ketamine infusion at two doses (10 and 30 mg/kg), in alpha-chloralose anaesthetized rats. Ketamine produced significant BOLD changes over time in brain regions relevant to schizophrenia. Ketamine pMRI in the rat may be a useful tool in preclinical schizophrenia research.