Functional Connectivity of the Brain Across Rodents and Humans

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Nan Xu, Emory University; Theodore J LaGrow, Georgia Tech; Nmachi Anumba, Emory University; Azalea Lee, Emory University; Xiaodi Zhang, Emory University; Behnaz Yousefi, Emory University; Yasmine Bassil, Emory University; Gloria P Clavijo, Emory University; Vahid Khalilzad Sharghi, Emory University; Eric Maltbie, Emory University; Lisa Meyer-Baese, Emory University; Maysam Nezafati, Emory University; Wenju Pan, Emory University; Shella Keilholz, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-03-08
• Publisher: FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2022 Xu, LaGrow, Anumba, Lee, Zhang, Yousefi, Bassil, Clavijo, Khalilzad Sharghi, Maltbie, Meyer-Baese, Nezafati, Pan and Keilholz.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.816331
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
• Volume: 16
• Start Page: 816331
• End Page: 816331
• Grant/Funding Information: funding from 1R01MH111416, 1R01NS078095, and 1R01EB029857. TL would like to thank the financial support from the George R. Riley Fellowship.
• Keywords: QUASI-PERIODIC PATTERNS; rats; psychiatric disorders; neurological disorders; RESTING-STATE FMRI; Neurosciences; HUMAN CEREBRAL-CORTEX; functional connectivity; ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE; Science & Technology; OPEN ACCESS SERIES; mice; humans; NEURAL ACTIVITY; rodents; RICH-CLUB ORGANIZATION; translational studies; TEMPORAL-LOBE EPILEPSY; Neurosciences & Neurology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; SPONTANEOUS FLUCTUATIONS; DEFAULT-MODE NETWORK
• Research Categories: Engineering, Electronics and Electrical; Engineering, Biomedical

Abstract

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), which measures the spontaneous fluctuations in the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal, is increasingly utilized for the investigation of the brain’s physiological and pathological functional activity. Rodents, as a typical animal model in neuroscience, play an important role in the studies that examine the neuronal processes that underpin the spontaneous fluctuations in the BOLD signal and the functional connectivity that results. Translating this knowledge from rodents to humans requires a basic knowledge of the similarities and differences across species in terms of both the BOLD signal fluctuations and the resulting functional connectivity. This review begins by examining similarities and differences in anatomical features, acquisition parameters, and preprocessing techniques, as factors that contribute to functional connectivity. Homologous functional networks are compared across species, and aspects of the BOLD fluctuations such as the topography of the global signal and the relationship between structural and functional connectivity are examined. Time-varying features of functional connectivity, obtained by sliding windowed approaches, quasi-periodic patterns, and coactivation patterns, are compared across species. Applications demonstrating the use of rs-fMRI as a translational tool for cross-species analysis are discussed, with an emphasis on neurological and psychiatric disorders. Finally, open questions are presented to encapsulate the future direction of the field.