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Functional Connectivity of the Developing Mouse Cortex
Rachel M Rahn1,2,3, Lindsey M Brier1, Annie R Bice1
1Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|September 9, 2021
Summary
This study tracked brain functional connectivity (FC) in mice from adolescence to adulthood using calcium imaging. We found significant changes in brain networks during development, providing a resource for studying neurological disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Systems Neuroscience
Background:
- Cortical development involves structural and synaptic changes during critical periods.
- The emergence of functional connectivity (FC) during development is not fully understood.
- Hemodynamic measures of FC are limited by potential neurovascular coupling changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To longitudinally characterize the development of functional connectivity (FC) in the mouse cortex.
- To identify specific developmental timepoints and brain regions with dynamic FC changes.
- To provide a dataset for future research on developmental neurological disorders.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal optical fluorescence imaging of calcium activity in awake, resting-state mouse cortex.
- Data collected at five developmental timepoints from postnatal day 15 (P15) to P60.
- Analysis of 325 seed-seed connections to quantify FC changes.
Main Results:
- Coherent functional brain maps were present as early as P15.
- Significant increases in FC were observed between P15 and P22 across most of the cortex.
- Postnatal day 22 showed differences in bilateral connectivity and node degree in specific cortical regions.
- Development involved a rebalancing of inter- and intrahemispheric FC and a shift towards local-distal FC dominance.
Conclusions:
- This study provides a comprehensive longitudinal dataset of calcium-based FC development in the mouse cortex.
- Specific periods of dynamic FC changes were identified, offering targets for future research.
- The findings contribute to understanding typical brain development and can inform studies of developmental neurological conditions.
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