Biology subjects

Dopfel, D.

Publications and source records attributed to Dopfel, D..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2022

StandardRat: A multi-center consensus protocol to enhance functional connectivity specificity in the rat brain

Task-free functional connectivity in animal models provides an experimental framework to examine connectivity phenomena under controlled conditions and allows comparison with invasive or terminal procedures. To date, animal acquisitions are performed with varying protocols and analyses that hamper result comparison and integration. We introduce StandardRat, a consensus rat functional MRI acquisition protocol tested across 20 centers. To develop this protocol with optimized acquisition and processing parameters, we initially aggregated 65 functional imaging datasets acquired in rats from 46 centers. We developed a reproducible pipeline for the analysis of rat data acquired with diverse protocols and determined experimental and processing parameters associated with a more robust functional connectivity detection. We show that the standardized protocol enhances biologically plausible functional connectivity patterns, relative to pre-existing acquisitions. The protocol and processing pipeline described here are openly shared with the neuroimaging community to promote interoperability and cooperation towards tackling the most important challenges in neuroscience.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

An open database of resting-state fMRI in awake rats

Rodent models are essential to translational research in health and disease. Investigation in rodent brain function and organization at the systems level using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) has become increasingly popular, owing to its high spatial resolution and whole-brain coverage. Due to this rapid progress, shared rodent rsfMRI databases can be of particular interest and importance to the scientific community, as inspired by human neuroscience and psychiatric research that are substantially facilitated by open human neuroimaging datasets. However, such databases in rats are still lacking. In this paper, we share an open rsfMRI database acquired in 90 rats with a well-established awake imaging paradigm that avoids anesthesia interference. Both raw and preprocessed data are made publically available. Procedures in data preprocessing to remove artefacts induced by the scanner, head motion, non-neural physiological noise are described in details. We also showcase inter-regional functional connectivity and functional networks calculated from the database.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

Individual variability in behavior and functional networks predicts vulnerability using a predator scent model of PTSD

Only a minority of individuals who experience traumatic event(s) subsequently develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, whether differences in vulnerability to PTSD result from predisposition or a consequence of trauma exposure remains unclear. A major challenge in differentiating these possibilities is that clinical studies focus on individuals already exposed to traumatic experiences, and do not take into account pre-trauma conditions. Here using the predator scent model of PTSD in rats and a longitudinal design, we measured pre-trauma brain-wide neural circuit functional connectivity (FC), behavioral and corticosterone responses to trauma exposure, and post-trauma anxiety. Individual differences in freezing responses to predator scent exposure correlated with differences in pre-trauma FC in a set of neural circuits, especially in olfactory and stress-related systems, indicating that pre-existing function in these circuits could predispose animals to differential fearful responses to threats. Counterintuitively, rats with the lowest freezing showed more avoidance of the predator scent, a prolonged corticosterone response, and higher anxiety long after exposure. This study provides a comprehensive framework of pre-existing circuit function that determines threat response strategy, which might be directly related to the development of PTSD-like behaviors.

neuroscience↗