Link to Pubmed [PMID] – 32585345
Link to DOI – S1053-8119(20)30565-610.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117079
Neuroimage 2020 10; 220(): 117079
Abnormal structural and functional connectivity in the striatum during neurological disorders has been reported using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), although the effects of cell-type specific neuronal stimulation on fMRI and related behavioral alterations are not well understood. In this study, we combined DREADD technology with fMRI (“chemo-fMRI”) to investigate alterations of spontaneous neuronal activity. These were induced by the unilateral activation of dopamine D1 receptor-expressing neurons (D1-neurons) in the mouse dorsal striatum (DS). After clozapine (CLZ) stimulation of the excitatory DREADD expressed in D1-neurons, the fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (fALFF) increased bilaterally in the medial thalamus, nucleus accumbens and cortex. In addition, we found that the gamma-band of local field potentials was increased in the stimulated DS and cortex bilaterally. These results provide insights for better interpretation of cell type-specific activity changes in fMRI.