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Abstract #1173

Spontaneous Increase in Neuronal Activity in the Resting State Is Associated with Increase in Blood Oxygenation

Shmuel Na'aman1, Sebastien Thomas1, Mirza Baig1, Peter O'Connor1, Amir Shmuel1,2

1MNI, Dept. of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; 2Center for MR Research, U. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States


Recent studies have demonstrated large amplitude spontaneous slow (< 0.1 Hz) fluctuations in functional-MRI (fMRI) signals in humans in the resting state. Despite the large body of human imaging literature on spontaneous activity and functional-connectivity in the resting state, the link to underlying neural activity remains tenuous. We show that spontaneous neurophysiological activity in rat S1FL includes events in which changes in local field potentials across cortical layers resemble the corresponding changes in response to sensory stimulation. These spontaneous neurophysiological events are accompanied by increases in blood oxygenation that peak approximately 5 s following the events.

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