Meeting Banner
Abstract #2037

How specific is specific? Stimulus-evoked fMRI in rats and mice

Giovanna Diletta Ielacqua 1 , Aileen Schroeter 1 , Mark Augath 1 , Felix Schlegel 1 , and Markus Rudin 1,2

1 Institute for Biomedical Engineering, ETH and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 2 Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Stimulus-evoked fMRI experiments in mice show widespread hemodynamic responses even to innocuous stimulation, indicating general arousal of the animal. Systemic cardiovascular responses to stimuli appear to overrule cerebral hemodynamics and mask specific stimulus-evoked responses. Measurements in rats are less confounded by such impact, resulting in predominantly contralateral activation of cortical somatosensory cortical area involved in processing of the stimulus. Here, we characterize fMRI responses in further detail and study three different paw stimulation paradigms (electrical, chemical and thermal) in rats and mice. Better understanding the interplay between specific and systemic fMRI signal contributions should help enhancing specificity in fMRI.

This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only; a login is required.

Join Here