Dany V. D'Souza1, Elisabeth Jonckers1, Andreas Bruns2, Basil Kuennecke2, Marleen Verhoye1, Markus von Kienlin2, Annemie van der Linden1, Thomas Mueggler2
1Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium; 2Translational Neuroscience, CNS, Roche, Switzerland
Graph analysis of resting state fMRI (rs-fMRI) data enables characterization of the properties of large-scale brain functional networks both in humans and small animals. Graph measures bearing neurobiological importance are often computed in networks of strong positive associations among brain regions, neglecting the negative associations. We performed rs-fMRI experiments in rats, and constructed a fully connected network of 30 brain regions by retaining all functional connections irrespective of their sign and strength. Applying graph measures we found that rat functional network is segregated into 6 modules associated with known brain functions, and exhibits hubs which might form a network core.
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