Resting state network topology of the ferret brain

Zhe Charles Zhou; Andrew P Salzwedel; Susanne Radtke-Schuller; Yuhui Li; Kristin K Sellers; John H Gilmore; Yen-Yu Ian Shih; Flavio Fröhlich; Wei Gao

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.09.003

Resting state network topology of the ferret brain

Neuroimage. 2016 Dec:143:70-81. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.09.003. Epub 2016 Sep 2.

Authors

Zhe Charles Zhou¹, Andrew P Salzwedel², Susanne Radtke-Schuller³, Yuhui Li³, Kristin K Sellers¹, John H Gilmore³, Yen-Yu Ian Shih⁴, Flavio Fröhlich⁵, Wei Gao⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States.
² Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, United States; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, United States.
³ Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Small Animal Imaging Facility, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States.
⁶ Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, United States; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, United States. Electronic address: wei.gao@cshs.org.

Abstract

Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) has emerged as a versatile tool for non-invasive measurement of functional connectivity patterns in the brain. RsfMRI brain dynamics in rodents, non-human primates, and humans share similar properties; however, little is known about the resting state functional connectivity patterns in the ferret, an animal model with high potential for developmental and cognitive translational study. To address this knowledge-gap, we performed rsfMRI on anesthetized ferrets using a 9.4T MRI scanner, and subsequently performed group-level independent component analysis (gICA) to identify functionally connected brain networks. Group-level ICA analysis revealed distributed sensory, motor, and higher-order networks in the ferret brain. Subsequent connectivity analysis showed interconnected higher-order networks that constituted a putative default mode network (DMN), a network that exhibits altered connectivity in neuropsychiatric disorders. Finally, we assessed ferret brain topological efficiency using graph theory analysis and found that the ferret brain exhibits small-world properties. Overall, these results provide additional evidence for pan-species resting-state networks, further supporting ferret-based studies of sensory and cognitive function.

Keywords: Default mode network; Ferret; Graph theory; Networks; Resting state; fMRI.

MeSH terms

Animals
Brain / diagnostic imaging
Brain / physiology*
Brain Mapping / methods*
Female
Ferrets / physiology*
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods*

Grants and funding

R01 MH101547/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States