Abstract #0331

Alterations of Resting-State Functional Activity and Connectivity in the Rat Brain Induced by Acute Ketamine Treatment Implications for Schizophrenia

Dany D'Souza¹, Andreas Bruns², Basil Kuennecke¹, Daniela Alberati¹, Edilio Borroni¹, Markus von Kienlin¹, Annemie Van der Linden³, Thomas Mueggler¹

¹pRED, Pharma Research & Early Development, DTA Neuroscience, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Basel, Switzerland; ²pRED, Pharma Research & Early Development, DTA Neuroscience, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland; ³Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

Using resting-state fMRI, we characterized 1) complexity of spontaneously fluctuating BOLD signals, 2) alteration of functional connectivity between brain regions in rats after a sub-anaesthetic dose of ketamine, an NMDAR antagonist known to induce positive and negative symptoms, and cognitive deficits in healthy subjects as well as psychotic-like behaviour in rodents. However, the neural circuitry underlying the psychotic symptoms produced by ketamine is poorly understood. Our findings of functional activity and connectivity alterations specifically in prefrontal, auditory and visual cortex may be linked to the disturbed neural oscillation and synchrony putatively underlying the psychotic-like behavior observed in this model.