Subcortical evidence for a contribution of arousal to fMRI studies of brain activity.

ABSTRACT: Cortical activity during periods of rest is punctuated by widespread, synchronous events in both electrophysiological and hemodynamic signals, but their behavioral relevance remains unclear. Here we report that these events correspond to momentary drops in cortical arousal and are associated with activity changes in the basal forebrain and thalamus. Combining fMRI and electrophysiology in macaques, we first establish that fMRI transients co-occur with spectral shifts in local field potentials (LFPs) toward low frequencies. Applying this knowledge to fMRI data from the human connectome project, we find that the fMRI transients are strongest in sensory cortices. Surprisingly, the positive cortical transients occur together with negative transients in focal subcortical areas known to be invol

SUBMITTER: Liu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5786066 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature