Gradual Restraint Habituation for Awake Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Combined With a Sparse Imaging Paradigm Reduces Motion Artifacts and Stress Levels in Rodents.

ABSTRACT: Functional magnetic resonance imaging, as a non-invasive technique, offers unique opportunities to assess brain function and connectivity under a broad range of applications, ranging from passive sensory stimulation to high-level cognitive abilities, in awake animals. This approach is confounded, however, by the fact that physical restraint and loud unpredictable acoustic noise must inevitably accompany fMRI recordings. These factors induce marked stress in rodents, and stress-related elevations of corticosterone levels are known to alter information processing and cognition in the rodent. Here, we propose a habituation strategy that spans specific stages of adaptation to restraint, MRI noise, and confinement stress in awake rats and circumvents the need for surgical head restraint. This h

SUBMITTER: Russo G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8724036 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature