Publications

2019

Krawchuk MB, Ruff CA, Yang X, Ross SE, Vazquez AL (2019). Optogenetic assessment of VIP, PV, SOM and NOS inhibitory neuron activity and cerebral blood flow regulation in mouse somato-sensory cortex, Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/0271678X19870105. (Abstract)
The impact of different neuronal populations on local cerebral blood flow (CBF) regulation is not well known and insight into these relationships could enhance the interpretation of brain function and dysfunction from brain imaging data. We investigated the role of sub-types of inhibitory neuron activity on the regulation of CBF using optogenetics, laser Doppler flowmetry and different transgenic mouse models (parvalbumin (PV), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), somatostatin (SOM) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS)). Whisker stimulation was used to verify that typical CBF responses were obtained in all mice. Photo-stimulation of SOM-cre and NOS-cre mice produced significant increases in CBF that were similar to whisker responses. In NOS-cre mice, CBF responses scaled with the photo-stimulus pulse duration and frequency. In SOM-cre mice, CBF increases were followed by decreases. In VIP-cre mice, photo-stimulation did not consistently produce significant changes in CBF, while slower increases in CBF that peaked 14–18 s after stimulation onset were observed in PV-cre mice. Control experiments performed in non-expressing regions showed no changes in CBF. These findings suggest that dysfunction in NOS or SOM neurons can have a significant impact on vascular responses that are detected by brain imaging methods like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
Poplawsky AJ, Fukuda M, Kang B-m, Kim JH, Suh M, Kim S-G (2019) Dominance of layer-specific microvessel dilation in contrast-enhanced high-resolution fMRI: Comparison between hemodynamic spread and vascular architecture with CLARITY. Neuroimage, 197, 657-667. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.08.046. (Abstract)
Contrast-enhanced cerebral blood volume-weighted (CBVw) fMRI response peaks are specific to the layer of evoked synaptic activity (Poplawsky et al., 2015), but the spatial resolution limit of CBVw fMRI is unknown. In this study, we measured the laminar spread of the CBVw fMRI evoked response in the external plexiform layer (EPL, 265 ± 65 μm anatomical thickness, mean ± SD, n = 30 locations from 5 rats) of the rat olfactory bulb during electrical stimulation of the lateral olfactory tract and examined its potential vascular source. First, we obtained the evoked CBVw fMRI responses with a 55 × 55 μm2 in-plane resolution and a 500-μm thickness at 9.4 T, and found that the fMRI signal peaked predominantly in the inner half of EPL (136 ± 54 μm anatomical thickness). The mean full-width at half-maximum of these fMRI peaks was 347 ± 102 μm and the functional spread was approximately 100 or 200 μm when the effects of the laminar thicknesses of EPL or inner EPL were removed, respectively. Second, we visualized the vascular architecture of EPL from a different rat using a Clear Lipid-exchanged Anatomically Rigid Imaging/immunostaining-compatible Tissue hYdrogel (CLARITY)-based tissue preparation method and confocal microscopy. Microvascular segments with an outer diameter of <11 μm accounted for 64.3% of the total vascular volume within EPL and had a mean segment length of 55 ± 40 μm (n = 472). Additionally, vessels that crossed the EPL border had a mean segment length outside of EPL equal to 73 ± 61 μm (n = 28), which is comparable to half of the functional spread (50-100 μm). Therefore, we conclude that dilation of these microvessels, including capillaries, likely dominate the CBVw fMRI response and that the biological limit of the fMRI spatial resolution is approximately the average length of 1-2 microvessel segments, which may be sufficient for examining sublaminar circuits.
Poplawsky AJ, Fukuda M, Kim S-G (2019) Foundations of layer-specific fMRI and investigations of neurophysiological activity in the laminarized neocortex and olfactory bulb of animal models. Neuroimage, 199, 718-729. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.05.023. PMCID:PMC5682230. (Abstract)
Laminar organization of neuronal circuits is a recurring feature of how the brain processes information. For instance, different layers compartmentalize different cell types, synaptic activities, and have unique intrinsic and extrinsic connections that serve as units for specialized signal processing. Functional MRI is an invaluable tool to investigate laminar processing in the in vivo human brain, but it measures neuronal activity indirectly by way of the hemodynamic response. Therefore, the accuracy of high-resolution laminar fMRI depends on how precisely it can measure localized microvascular changes nearest to the site of evoked activity. To determine the specificity of fMRI responses to the true neurophysiological responses across layers, the flexibility to invasive procedures in animal models has been necessary. In this review, we will examine different fMRI contrasts and their appropriate uses for layer-specific fMRI, and how localized laminar processing was examined in the neocortex and olfactory bulb. Through collective efforts, it was determined that microvessels, including capillaries, are regulated within single layers and that several endogenous and contrast-enhanced fMRI contrast mechanisms can separate these neural-specific vascular changes from the nonspecific, especially cerebral blood volume-weighted fMRI with intravenous contrast agent injection. We will also propose some open questions that are relevant for the successful implementation of layer-specific fMRI and its potential future directions to study laminar processing when combined with optogenetics.

2018

Iordanova B, Vazquez A, Kozai TD, Fukuda M, Kim S-G (2018) Optogenetic investigation of the variable neurovascular coupling along the interhemispheric circuits. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab, 38(4), 627–640. doi:10.1177/0271678x18755225. (Abstract)
The interhemispheric circuit connecting the left and the right mammalian brain plays a key role in integration of signals from the left and the right side of the body. The information transfer is carried out by modulation of simultaneous excitation and inhibition. Hemodynamic studies of this circuit are inconsistent since little is known about neurovascular coupling of mixed excitatory and inhibitory signals. We investigated the variability in hemodynamic responses driven by the interhemispheric circuit during optogenetic and somatosensory activation. We observed differences in the neurovascular response based on the stimulation site – cell bodies versus distal projections. In half of the experiments, optogenetic stimulation of the cell bodies evoked a predominant post-synaptic inhibition in the other hemisphere, accompanied by metabolic oxygen consumption without coupled functional hyperemia. When the same transcallosal stimulation resulted in predominant post-synaptic excitation, the hemodynamic response was biphasic, consisting of metabolic dip followed by functional hyperemia. Optogenetic suppression of the postsynaptic excitation abolished the coupled functional hyperemia. In contrast, light stimulation at distal projections evoked consistently a metabolic response. Our findings suggest that functional hyperemia requires signals originating from the cell body and the hemodynamic response variability appears to reflect the balance between the post-synaptic excitation and inhibition.
Jin T, Mehrens H, Wang P, Kim SG (2018) Chemical exchange-sensitive spin-lock MRI of glucose analog 3-O-methyl-d-glucose in normal and ischemic brain. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab, 38(5), 869–880. doi:10.1177/0271678x17707419. (Abstract)
Glucose transport is important for understanding brain glucose metabolism. We studied glucose transport with a presumably non-toxic and non-metabolizable glucose analog, 3-O-methyl-d-glucose, using a chemical exchange-sensitive spin-lock MRI technique at 9.4 Tesla. 3-O-methyl-d-glucose showed comparable chemical exchange properties with d-glucose and 2-deoxy-d-glucose in phantoms, and higher and lower chemical exchange-sensitive spin-lock sensitivity than Glc and 2-deoxy-d-glucose in in vivo experiments, respectively. The changes of the spin-lattice relaxation rate in the rotating frame (Delta R1rho) in normal rat brain peaked at approximately 15 min after the intravenous injection of 1 g/kg 3-O-methyl-d-glucose and almost maintained a plateau for >1 h. Doses up to 4 g/kg 3-O-methyl-d-glucose were linearly correlated with Delta R1rho. In rats with focal ischemic stroke, chemical exchange-sensitive spin-lock with 3-O-methyl-d-glucose injection at 1 h after stroke onset showed reduced Delta R1rho in the ischemic core but higher Delta R1rho in the peri-core region compared to normal tissue, which progressed into the ischemic core at 3 h after stroke onset. This suggests that the hyper-chemical exchange-sensitive spin-lock region observed at 1 h is the ischemic penumbra at-risk of infarct. In summary, 3-O-methyl-d-glucose-chemical exchange-sensitive spin-lock can be a sensitive MRI technique to probe the glucose transport in normal and ischemic brains.
Murphy MC, Chan KC, Kim SG, Vazquez AL (2018) Macroscale variation in resting-state neuronal activity and connectivity assessed by simultaneous calcium imaging, hemodynamic imaging and electrophysiology. Neuroimage, 169, 352-362. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.12.070. (Abstract)
Functional imaging of spontaneous activity continues to play an important role in the field of connectomics. The most common imaging signal used for these experiments is the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI) signal, but how this signal relates to spontaneous neuronal activity remains incompletely understood. Genetically encoded calcium indicators represent a promising tool to study this problem, as they can provide brain-wide measurements of neuronal activity compared to point measurements afforded by electrophysiological recordings. However, the relationship between the calcium signal and neurophysiological parameters at the mesoscopic scale requires further systematic characterization. Therefore, we collected simultaneous resting-state measurements of electrophysiology, along with calcium and hemodynamic imaging, in lightly anesthetized mice to investigate two aims. First, we examined the relationship between each imaging signal and the simultaneously recorded electrophysiological signal in a single brain region, finding that both signals are better correlated with multi-unit activity compared to local field potentials, with the calcium signal possessing greater signal-to-noise ratio and regional specificity. Second, we used the resting-state imaging data to model the relationship between the calcium and hemodynamic signals across the brain. We found that this relationship varied across brain regions in a way that is consistent across animals, with delays increasing by600 ms towards posterior cortical regions. Furthermore, while overall functional connectivity (FC) measured by the hemodynamic signal is significantly correlated with FC measured by calcium, the two estimates were found to be significantly different. We hypothesize that these differences arise at least in part from the observed regional variation in the hemodynamic response. In total, this work highlights some of the caveats needed in interpreting hemodynamic-based measurements of FC, as well as the need for improved modeling methods to reduce this potential source of bias.
Vazquez AL, Fukuda M, Kim S-G (2018) Inhibitory Neuron Activity Contributions to Hemodynamic Responses and Metabolic Load Examined Using an Inhibitory Optogenetic Mouse Model. Cereb Cortex, 28(11), 4105-4119. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhy225. (Abstract)
Hemodynamic signals are routinely used to noninvasively assess brain function in humans and animals. This work examined the contribution of inhibitory neuron activity on hemodynamic responses captured by changes in blood flow, volume and oxygenation in the cortex of lightly anesthetized mice. Because cortical activity is not commonly initiated by inhibitory neurons, experiments were conducted to examine the neuronal activity properties elicited by photo-stimulation. We observed comparable increases in neuronal activity evoked by forelimb and photo-stimulation; however, significantly larger increases in blood flow and volume were produced by photo-stimulation of inhibitory neurons compared with forelimb stimulation. Following blockade of glutamate and GABA-A receptors to reduce postsynaptic activity contributions, neuronal activity was reliably modulated and hemodynamic changes persisted, though slightly reduced. More importantly, photo-stimulation-evoked changes in blood flow and volume were suppressed by 75–80% with the administration of a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, suggesting that inhibitory neurons regulate blood flow mostly via nitric oxide. Lastly, forelimb and photo-stimulation of excitatory neurons produced local decreases in blood oxygenation, while large increases were generated by photo-stimulation of inhibitory neurons. Estimates of oxygen metabolism suggest that inhibitory neuron activity has a small impact on tissue metabolic load, indicating a mismatch between the metabolic demand and blood flow regulation properties of inhibitory and excitatory neurons.

2017

Eles JR, Vazquez AL, Snyder NR, Lagenaur C, Murphy MC, Kozai TD, Cui XT (2017) Neuroadhesive L1 coating attenuates acute microglial attachment to neural electrodes as revealed by live two-photon microscopy. Biomaterials, 113, 279-292. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2016.10.054. PMCID:PMC5563378. (Abstract)
Implantable neural electrode technologies for chronic neural recordings can restore functional control to paralysis and limb loss victims through brain-machine interfaces. These probes, however, have high failure rates partly due to the biological responses to the probe which generate an inflammatory scar and subsequent neuronal cell death. L1 is a neuronal specific cell adhesion molecule and has been shown to minimize glial scar formation and promote electrode-neuron integration when covalently attached to the surface of neural probes. In this work, the acute microglial response to L1-coated neural probes was evaluated in vivo by implanting coated devices into the cortex of mice with fluorescently labeled microglia, and tracking microglial dynamics with multi-photon microscopy for the ensuing 6 h in order to understand L1's cellular mechanisms of action. Microglia became activated immediately after implantation, extending processes towards both L1-coated and uncoated control probes at similar velocities. After the processes made contact with the probes, microglial processes expanded to cover 47.7% of the control probes' surfaces. For L1-coated probes, however, there was a statistically significant 83% reduction in microglial surface coverage. This effect was sustained through the experiment. At 6 h post-implant, the radius of microglia activation was reduced for the L1 probes by 20%, shifting from 130.0 to 103.5 mum with the coating. Microglia as far as 270 mum from the implant site displayed significantly lower morphological characteristics of activation for the L1 group. These results suggest that the L1 surface treatment works in an acute setting by microglial mediated mechanisms.
Foley LM, Clark RS, Vazquez AL, Hitchens TK, Alexander H, Ho C, Kochanek PM, Manole MD (2017) Enduring disturbances in regional cerebral blood flow and brain oxygenation at 24 h after asphyxial cardiac arrest in developing rats. Pediatr Res, 81(1-1), 94-98. doi:10.1038/pr.2016.175. PMCID:PMC5287715. (Abstract)
BACKGROUND: Disturbances in cerebral blood flow (CBF) and brain oxygenation (PbO2) are present early after pediatric cardiac arrest (CA). CBF-targeted therapies improved neurological outcome in our CA model. To assess the therapeutic window for CBF- and PbO2-targeted therapies, we propose to determine if CBF and PbO2 disturbances persist at 24 h after experimental pediatric CA. METHODS: Regional CBF and PbO2 were measured at 24 h after asphyxial CA in immature rats (n = 26, 6-8/group) using arterial spin label MRI and tissue electrodes, respectively. RESULTS: In all regions but the thalamus, CBF recovered to sham values by 24 h; thalamic CBF was >32% higher after CA vs. sham. PbO2 values at 24 h after CA in the cortex and thalamus were similar to shams in rats who received supplemental oxygen, however, on room air, cortical PbO2 was lower after CA vs. shams. CONCLUSION: CBF remains increased in the thalamus at 24 h after CA and PbO2 is decreased to hypoxic levels in cortex at 24 h after CA in rats who do not receive supplemental oxygen. Given the enduring disturbances in this model and the lack of routine CBF or PbO2 monitoring in patients, our data suggest the need for clinical correlation.
Iordanova B, Li L, Clark RSB, Manole MD (2017) Alterations in Cerebral Blood Flow after Resuscitation from Cardiac Arrest. Front Pediatr, 5, 174. doi:10.3389/fped.2017.00174. PMCID:PMC5561008. (Abstract)
Greater than 50% of patients successfully resuscitated from cardiac arrest have evidence of neurological disability. Numerous studies in children and adults, as well as in animal models have demonstrated that cerebral blood flow (CBF) is impaired after cardiac arrest. Stages of cerebral perfusion post-resuscitation include early hyperemia, followed by hypoperfusion, and finally either resolution of normal blood flow or protracted hyperemia. At the level of the microcirculation the blood flow is heterogeneous, with areas of no flow, low flow, and increased flow. CBF directed therapies in animal models of cardiac arrest improved neurological outcome, and therefore, the alterations in CBF after cardiac arrest likely contribute to the development of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. Current intensive care after cardiac arrest is centered upon maintaining systemic oxygenation, normal blood pressure values for age, maintaining general homeostasis, and avoiding hyperthermia. Assessment of CBF and oxygenation is not routinely performed after cardiac arrest. Currently available and underutilized techniques to assess cerebral perfusion include transcranial doppler, near-infrared spectroscopy, and arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging. Limited clinical studies established the role of CBF and oxygenation monitoring in prognostication after cardiac arrest and few studies suggest that guiding critical care post-resuscitation to mean arterial pressures above the minimal autoregulatory range might improve outcome. Important knowledge gaps thus remain in cerebral monitoring and CBF and oxygen goal-directed therapies post-resuscitation from cardiac arrest.
Jin T, Wang P, Hitchens TK, Kim SG (2017) Enhancing sensitivity of pH-weighted MRI with combination of amide and guanidyl CEST. Neuroimage, 157, 341-350. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.06.007. PMCID:PMC5600834. (Abstract)
Amide-proton-transfer weighted (APTw) MRI has emerged as a non-invasive pH-weighted imaging technique for studies of several diseases such as ischemic stroke. However, its pH-sensitivity is relatively low, limiting its capability to detect small pH changes. In this work, computer simulations, protamine phantom experiments, and in vivo gas challenge and experimental stroke in rats showed that, with judicious selection of the saturation pulse power, the amide-CEST at 3.6ppm and guanidyl-CEST signals at 2.0ppm changed in opposite directions with decreased pH. Thus, the difference between amide-CEST and guanidyl-CEST can enhance the pH measurement sensitivity, and is dubbed as pHenh. Acidification induced a negative contrast in APTw, but a positive contrast in pHenh. In vivo experiments showed that pHenh can detect hypercapnia-induced acidosis with about 3-times higher sensitivity than APTw. Also, pHenh slightly reduced gray and white matter contrast compared to APTw. In stroke animals, the CEST contrast between the ipsilateral ischemic core and contralateral normal tissue was -1.85 +/- 0.42% for APTw and 3.04 +/- 0.61% (n = 5) for pHenh, and the contrast to noise was 2.9 times higher for pHenh than APTw. Our results suggest that pHenh can be a useful tool for non-invasive pH-weighted imaging.
Lohani S, Poplawsky AJ, Kim S-G, Moghaddam B (2017) Unexpected global impact of VTA dopamine neuron activation as measured by opto-fMRI. Mol Psychiatr, 22, 585-594. doi:10.1038/mp.2016.102. PMCID:PMC5269559. (Abstract)
Dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are strongly implicated in cognitive and affective processing as well as in psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and substance abuse disorders. In human studies, dopamine-related functions are routinely assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measures of blood oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signals during the performance of dopamine-dependent tasks. There is, however, a critical void in our knowledge about whether and how activation of VTA dopamine neurons specifically influences regional or global fMRI signals. Here, we used optogenetics in Th::Cre rats to selectively stimulate VTA dopamine neurons while simultaneously measuring global hemodynamic changes using BOLD and cerebral blood volume-weighted (CBVw) fMRI. Phasic activation of VTA dopamine neurons increased BOLD and CBVw fMRI signals in VTA-innervated limbic regions, including the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens). Surprisingly, basal ganglia regions that receive sparse or no VTA dopaminergic innervation, including the dorsal striatum and the globus pallidus, were also activated. In fact, the most prominent fMRI signal increase in the forebrain was observed in the dorsal striatum that is not traditionally associated with VTA dopamine neurotransmission. These data establish causation between phasic activation of VTA dopamine neurons and global fMRI signals. They further suggest that mesolimbic and non-limbic basal ganglia dopamine circuits are functionally connected and thus provide a potential novel framework for understanding dopamine-dependent functions and interpreting data obtained from human fMRI studies.

2016

Fukuda M, Poplawsky AJ, Kim S-G (2016). Chapter 6 - Submillimeter-resolution fMRI: Toward understanding local neural processing. In: Progress in Brain Research, H.H. Kazuto Masamoto, and Y. Katsuya, eds. (Elsevier), pp. 123-152. doi:10.1016/bs.pbr.2016.03.003. (Abstract)
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measures the hemodynamic response to active neurons. The most prevailing fMRI contrast, blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) contrast, specifically results from a complex interplay between oxygen metabolism, blood flow, and blood volume reactions. Therefore, because fMRI indirectly measures brain function, the spatial accuracy of these blood-borne signal changes to the true neuronal activity comes into question, especially at high resolutions. To better interpret the neural basis of fMRI, these properties have been studied in localized neural circuits of the brain using fMRI with blood flow, blood volume, and BOLD contrasts, as well as optical intrinsic signal imaging (OISI), which shares similar signal sources as fMRI. Here, we review how submillimeter-scale high-resolution fMRI and OISI in the visual cortex columnar and olfactory bulb laminar models have advanced our basic knowledge of the spatial localization of the individual hemodynamic signals and neurovascular coupling mechanisms.
Jin T, Mehrens H, Wang P, Kim SG (2016) Glucose metabolism-weighted imaging with chemical exchange-sensitive MRI of 2-deoxyglucose (2DG) in brain: Sensitivity and biological sources. Neuroimage, 143, 82-90. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.08.040. PMCID:PMC5124509. (Abstract)
Recent proof-of-principle studies have demonstrated the feasibility of measuring the uptake and metabolism of non-labeled 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) by a chemical exchange-sensitive spin-lock (CESL) MRI approach. In order to gain better understanding of this new approach, we performed dynamic in vivo CESL MRI on healthy rat brains with an intravenous injection of 2DG under various conditions at 9.4T. For three 2DG doses of 0.25, 0.5 and 1g/kg, we found that 2DG-CESL signals increased linearly with injection dose at the initial (<20min) but not the later period (>40min) suggesting time-dependent differential weightings of 2DG transport and metabolism. Remaining 2DG-CESL studies were performed with 0.25g/kg 2DG. Since a higher isoflurane level reduces glucose metabolism and increases blood flow, 2DG-CESL was measured under 0.5%, 1.5% and 2.2% isoflurane. The 2DG-CESL signal was reduced at higher isoflurane levels correlating well with the 2DG phosphorylation in the intracellular space. To detect regional heterogeneities of glucose metabolism, 2DG-CESL with 0.33x0.33x1.50mm(3) resolution was obtained, which indeed showed a higher response in the cortex compared to the corpus callosum. Lastly, unlike CESL MRI with the injection of non-transportable mannitol, the 2DG-CESL response decreased with an increased spin-lock pulse power confirming that 2DG-CESL is dominated by chemical exchange processes in the extravascular space. Taken together, our results showed that 2DG-CESL MRI signals mainly indicate glucose transport and metabolism and may be a useful biomarker for metabolic studies of normal and diseased brains.
Kozai TD, Eles JR, Vazquez AL, Cui XT (2016) Two-photon imaging of chronically implanted neural electrodes: Sealing methods and new insights. J Neurosci Meth, 258, 46-55. doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2015.10.007. PMCID:PMC4771525. (Abstract)
BACKGROUND: Two-photon microscopy has enabled the visualization of dynamic tissue changes to injury and disease in vivo. While this technique has provided powerful new information, in vivo two-photon chronic imaging around tethered cortical implants, such as microelectrodes or neural probes, present unique challenges. NEW METHOD: A number of strategies are described to prepare a cranial window to longitudinally observe the impact of neural probes on brain tissue and vasculature for up to 3 months. RESULTS: It was found that silastic sealants limit cell infiltration into the craniotomy, thereby limiting light scattering and preserving window clarity over time. In contrast, low concentration hydrogel sealants failed to prevent cell infiltration and their use at high concentration displaced brain tissue and disrupted probe performance. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD(S): The use of silastic sealants allows for a suitable imaging window for long term chronic experiments and revealed new insights regarding the dynamic leukocyte response around implants and the nature of chronic BBB leakage in the sub-dural space. CONCLUSION: The presented method provides a valuable tool for evaluating the chronic inflammatory response and the performance of emerging implantable neural technologies.
Kozai TDY, Jaquins-Gerstl AS, Vazquez AL, Michael AC, Cui XT (2016) Dexamethasone retrodialysis attenuates microglial response to implanted probes in vivo. Biomaterials, 87, 157-169. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2016.02.013. PMCID:PMC4866508. (Abstract)
Intracortical neural probes enable researchers to measure electrical and chemical signals in the brain. However, penetration injury from probe insertion into living brain tissue leads to an inflammatory tissue response. In turn, microglia are activated, which leads to encapsulation of the probe and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This inflammatory tissue response alters the electrical and chemical microenvironment surrounding the implanted probe, which may in turn interfere with signal acquisition. Dexamethasone (Dex), a potent anti-inflammatory steroid, can be used to prevent and diminish tissue disruptions caused by probe implantation. Herein, we report retrodialysis administration of dexamethasone while using in vivo two-photon microscopy to observe real-time microglial reaction to the implanted probe. Microdialysis probes under artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) perfusion with or without Dex were implanted into the cortex of transgenic mice that express GFP in microglia under the CX3CR1 promoter and imaged for 6 h. Acute morphological changes in microglia were evident around the microdialysis probe. The radius of microglia activation was 177.1 mum with aCSF control compared to 93.0 mum with Dex perfusion. T-stage morphology and microglia directionality indices were also used to quantify the microglial response to implanted probes as a function of distance. Dexamethasone had a profound effect on the microglia morphology and reduced the acute activation of these cells.
Murphy MC, Poplawsky AJ, Vazquez AL, Chan KC, Kim S-G, Fukuda M (2016) Improved spatial accuracy of functional maps in the rat olfactory bulb using supervised machine learning approach. Neuroimage, 137, 1-8. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.05.055. PMCID:PMC4914461. (Abstract)
Functional MRI (fMRI) is a popular and important tool for noninvasive mapping of neural activity. As fMRI measures the hemodynamic response, the resulting activation maps do not perfectly reflect the underlying neural activity. The purpose of this work was to design a data-driven model to improve the spatial accuracy of fMRI maps in the rat olfactory bulb. This system is an ideal choice for this investigation since the bulb circuit is well characterized, allowing for an accurate definition of activity patterns in order to train the model. We generated models for both cerebral blood volume weighted (CBVw) and blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) fMRI data. The results indicate that the spatial accuracy of the activation maps is either significantly improved or at worst not significantly different when using the learned models compared to a conventional general linear model approach, particularly for BOLD images and activity patterns involving deep layers of the bulb. Furthermore, the activation maps computed by CBVw and BOLD data show increased agreement when using the learned models, lending more confidence to their accuracy. The models presented here could have an immediate impact on studies of the olfactory bulb, but perhaps more importantly, demonstrate the potential for similar flexible, data-driven models to improve the quality of activation maps calculated using fMRI data.
Vasireddi AK, Vazquez AL, Whitney DE, Fukuda M, Kim SG (2016) Functional Connectivity of Resting Hemodynamic Signals in Submillimeter Orientation Columns of the Visual Cortex. Brain Connect. doi:10.1089/brain.2015.0414. PMCID:PMC5069732. (Abstract)
Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging has been increasingly used for examining connectivity across brain regions. The spatial scale by which hemodynamic imaging can resolve functional connections at rest remains unknown. To examine this issue, deoxyhemoglobin-weighted intrinsic optical imaging data were acquired from the visual cortex of lightly anesthetized ferrets. The neural activity of orientation domains, which span a distance of 0.7-0.8 mm, has been shown to be correlated during evoked activity and at rest. We performed separate analyses to assess the degree to which the spatial and temporal characteristics of spontaneous hemodynamic signals depend on the known functional organization of orientation columns. As a control, artificial orientation column maps were generated. Spatially, resting hemodynamic patterns showed a higher spatial resemblance to iso-orientation maps than artificially generated maps. Temporally, a correlation analysis was used to establish whether iso-orientation domains are more correlated than orthogonal orientation domains. After accounting for a significant decrease in correlation as a function of distance, a small but significant temporal correlation between iso-orientation domains was found, which decreased with increasing difference in orientation preference. This dependence was abolished when using artificially synthetized orientation maps. Finally, the temporal correlation coefficient as a function of orientation difference at rest showed a correspondence with that calculated during visual stimulation suggesting that the strength of resting connectivity is related to the strength of the visual stimulation response. Our results suggest that temporal coherence of hemodynamic signals measured by optical imaging of intrinsic signals exists at a submillimeter columnar scale in resting state.

2015

Iordanova B, Vazquez AL, Poplawsky AJ, Fukuda M, Kim S-G (2015) Neural and hemodynamic responses to optogenetic and sensory stimulation in the rat somatosensory cortex. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab, 35(6), 922-932. doi:10.1038/jcbfm.2015.10. PMCID:PMC4640245. (Abstract)
Introducing optogenetics into neurovascular research can provide novel insights into the cell-specific control of the hemodynamic response. To generalize findings from molecular approaches, it is crucial to determine whether light-activated circuits have the same effect on the vasculature as sensory-activated ones. For that purpose, rats expressing channelrhodopsin (ChR2) specific to excitatory glutamatergic neurons were used to measure neural activity, blood flow, hemoglobin-based optical intrinsic signal, and blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during optogenetic and sensory stimulation. The magnitude of the evoked hemodynamic responses was monotonically correlated with optogenetic stimulus strength. The BOLD hemodynamic response function was consistent for optogenetic and sensory stimuli. The relationship between electrical activities and hemodynamic responses was comparable for optogenetic and sensory stimuli, and better explained by the local field potential (LFP) than the firing rate. The LFP was well correlated with cerebral blood flow, moderately with cerebral blood volume, and less with deoxyhemoglobin (dHb) level. The presynaptic firing rate had little impact on evoking vascular response. Contribution of the postsynaptic LFP to the blood flow response induced by optogenetic stimulus was further confirmed by the application of glutamate receptor antagonists. Overall, neurovascular coupling during optogenetic control of glutamatergic neurons largely conforms to that of a sensory stimulus.
Kozai TD, Catt K, Li X, Gugel ZV, Olafsson VT, Vazquez AL, Cui XT (2015) Mechanical failure modes of chronically implanted planar silicon-based neural probes for laminar recording. Biomaterials, 37, 25-39. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.10.040. PMCID:PMC4312222. (Abstract)
Penetrating intracortical electrode arrays that record brain activity longitudinally are powerful tools for basic neuroscience research and emerging clinical applications. However, regardless of the technology used, signals recorded by these electrodes degrade over time. The failure mechanisms of these electrodes are understood to be a complex combination of the biological reactive tissue response and material failure of the device over time. While mechanical mismatch between the brain tissue and implanted neural electrodes have been studied as a source of chronic inflammation and performance degradation, the electrode failure caused by mechanical mismatch between different material properties and different structural components within a device have remained poorly characterized. Using Finite Element Model (FEM) we simulate the mechanical strain on a planar silicon electrode. The results presented here demonstrate that mechanical mismatch between iridium and silicon leads to concentrated strain along the border of the two materials. This strain is further focused on small protrusions such as the electrical traces in planar silicon electrodes. These findings are confirmed with chronic in vivo data (133-189 days) in mice by correlating a combination of single-unit electrophysiology, evoked multi-unit recordings, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy from traces and electrode sites with our modeling data. Several modes of mechanical failure of chronically implanted planar silicon electrodes are found that result in degradation and/or loss of recording. These findings highlight the importance of strains and material properties of various subcomponents within an electrode array.
Kozai TD, Jaquins-Gerstl AS, Vazquez AL, Michael AC, Cui XT (2015) Brain tissue responses to neural implants impact signal sensitivity and intervention strategies. ACS chemical neuroscience, 6(1), 48-67. doi:10.1021/cn500256e. PMCID:PMC4304489. (Abstract)
Implantable biosensors are valuable scientific tools for basic neuroscience research and clinical applications. Neurotechnologies provide direct readouts of neurological signal and neurochemical processes. These tools are generally most valuable when performance capacities extend over months and years to facilitate the study of memory, plasticity, and behavior or to monitor patients' conditions. These needs have generated a variety of device designs from microelectrodes for fast scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) and electrophysiology to microdialysis probes for sampling and detecting various neurochemicals. Regardless of the technology used, the breaching of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to insert devices triggers a cascade of biochemical pathways resulting in complex molecular and cellular responses to implanted devices. Molecular and cellular changes in the microenvironment surrounding an implant include the introduction of mechanical strain, activation of glial cells, loss of perfusion, secondary metabolic injury, and neuronal degeneration. Changes to the tissue microenvironment surrounding the device can dramatically impact electrochemical and electrophysiological signal sensitivity and stability over time. This review summarizes the magnitude, variability, and time course of the dynamic molecular and cellular level neural tissue responses induced by state-of-the-art implantable devices. Studies show that insertion injuries and foreign body response can impact signal quality across all implanted central nervous system (CNS) sensors to varying degrees over both acute (seconds to minutes) and chronic periods (weeks to months). Understanding the underlying biological processes behind the brain tissue response to the devices at the cellular and molecular level leads to a variety of intervention strategies for improving signal sensitivity and longevity.
Kozai TD, Vazquez AL (2015) Photoelectric artefact from optogenetics and imaging on microelectrodes and bioelectronics: New Challenges and Opportunities. Journal of materials chemistry B, Materials for biology and medicine, 3(25), 4965-4978. doi:10.1039/c5tb00108k. PMCID:PMC4494685. (Abstract)
Bioelectronics, electronic technologies that interface with biological systems, are experiencing rapid growth in terms of technology development and applications, especially in neuroscience and neuroprosthetic research. The parallel growth with optogenetics and in vivo multi-photon microscopy has also begun to generate great enthusiasm for simultaneous applications with bioelectronic technologies. However, emerging research showing artefact contaminated data highlight the need for understanding the fundamental physical principles that critically impact experimental results and complicate their interpretation. This review covers four major topics: 1) material dependent properties of the photoelectric effect (conductor, semiconductor, organic, photoelectric work function (band gap)); 2) optic dependent properties of the photoelectric effect (single photon, multiphoton, entangled biphoton, intensity, wavelength, coherence); 3) strategies and limitations for avoiding/minimizing photoelectric effects; and 4) advantages of and applications for light-based bioelectronics (photo-bioelectronics).
Poplawsky AJ, Fukuda M, Murphy M, Kim S-G (2015) Layer-Specific fMRI Responses to Excitatory and Inhibitory Neuronal Activities in the Olfactory Bulb. J Neurosci, 35(46), 15263-15275. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1015-15.2015. PMCID:PMC4649002. (Abstract)
High-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) detects localized neuronal activity via the hemodynamic response, but it is unclear whether it accurately identifies neuronal activity specific to individual layers. To address this issue, we preferentially evoked neuronal activity in superficial, middle, and deep layers of the rat olfactory bulb: the glomerular layer by odor (5% amyl acetate), the external plexiform layer by electrical stimulation of the lateral olfactory tract (LOT), and the granule cell layer by electrical stimulation of the anterior commissure (AC), respectively. Electrophysiology, laser-Doppler flowmetry of cerebral blood flow (CBF), and blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) and cerebral blood volume-weighted (CBV) fMRI at 9.4 T were performed independently. We found that excitation of inhibitory granule cells by stimulating LOT and AC decreased the spontaneous multi-unit activities of excitatory mitral cells and subsequently increased CBF, CBV, and BOLD signals. Odor stimulation also increased the hemodynamic responses. Furthermore, the greatest CBV fMRI responses were discretely separated into the same layers as the evoked neuronal activities for all three stimuli, whereas BOLD was poorly localized with some exception to the poststimulus undershoot. In addition, the temporal dynamics of the fMRI responses varied depending on the stimulation pathway, even within the same layer. These results indicate that the vasculature is regulated within individual layers and CBV fMRI has a higher fidelity to the evoked neuronal activity compared with BOLD. Our findings are significant for understanding the neuronal origin and spatial specificity of hemodynamic responses, especially for the interpretation of laminar-resolution fMRI.

2014

Jin T, Kim SG (2014) Advantages of chemical exchange-sensitive spin-lock (CESL) over chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) for hydroxyl- and amine-water proton exchange studies. NMR Biomed, 27(11), 1313-1324. doi:10.1002/nbm.3191. PMCID:PMC4201909. (Abstract)
The chemical exchange (CE) rate of endogenous hydroxyl and amine protons with water is often comparable to the difference in their chemical shifts. These intermediate exchange processes have been imaged by the CE saturation transfer (CEST) approach with low-power and long-duration irradiation. However, the sensitivity is not optimal and, more importantly, the signal is contaminated by slow magnetization transfer processes. Here, the properties of CEST signals are compared with those of a CE-sensitive spin-lock (CESL) technique irradiating at the labile proton frequency. First, using a higher power and shorter irradiation in CE-MRI, we obtain: (i) an increased selectivity to faster CE rates via a higher sensitivity to faster CEs and a lower sensitivity to slower CEs and magnetization transfer processes; and (ii) a decreased in vivo asymmetric magnetization transfer contrast measured at +/-15 ppm. The sensitivity gain of CESL over CEST is higher for a higher power and shorter irradiation. Unlike CESL, CEST signals oscillate at a very high power and short irradiation. Second, time-dependent CEST and CESL signals are well modeled by analytical solutions of CE-MRI with an asymmetric population approximation, which can be used for quantitative CE-MRI and validated by simulations of Bloch-McConnell equations and phantom experiments. Finally, the in vivo amine-water proton exchange contrast measured at 2.5 ppm with omega1 = 500 Hz is 18% higher in sensitivity for CESL than CEST at 9.4 T. Overall, CESL provides better exchange rate selectivity and sensitivity than CEST; therefore, CESL is more suitable for CE-MRI of intermediate exchange protons.
Jin T, Mehrens H, Hendrich KS, Kim SG (2014) Mapping brain glucose uptake with chemical exchange-sensitive spin-lock magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism, 34(8), 1402-1410. doi:10.1038/jcbfm.2014.97. PMCID:PMC4126103. (Abstract)
Uptake of administered D-glucose (Glc) or 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) has been indirectly mapped through the chemical exchange (CE) between glucose hydroxyl and water protons using CE-dependent saturation transfer (glucoCEST) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We propose an alternative technique-on-resonance CE-sensitive spin-lock (CESL) MRI-to enhance responses to glucose changes. Phantom data and simulations suggest higher sensitivity for this 'glucoCESL' technique (versus glucoCEST) in the intermediate CE regime relevant to glucose. Simulations of CESL signals also show insensitivity to B0-fluctuations. Several findings are apparent from in vivo glucoCESL studies of rat brain at 9.4 Tesla with intravenous injections. First, dose-dependent responses are nearly linearly for 0.25-, 0.5-, and 1-g/kg Glc administration (obtained with 12-second temporal resolution), with changes robustly detected for all doses. Second, responses at a matched dose of 1 g/kg are much larger and persist for a longer duration for 2DG versus Glc administration, and are minimal for mannitol as an osmolality control. And third, with similar increases in steady-state blood glucose levels, glucoCESL responses are approximately 2.2 times higher for 2DG versus Glc, consistent with their different metabolic properties. Overall, we show that glucoCESL MRI could be a highly sensitive and quantifiable tool for glucose transport and metabolism studies.
Poplawsky AJ, Kim S-G (2014) Layer-dependent BOLD and CBV-weighted fMRI responses in the rat olfactory bulb. Neuroimage, 91, 237-251. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.12.067. PMCID:PMC3965612. (Abstract)
The olfactory bulb is a laminarized brain structure involved in odor sensation that has important implications to basic neuroscience research, like mechanisms for neurovascular coupling and early disease diagnosis. To investigate laminar-dependent responses to odor exposure, blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) and cerebral blood volume weighted (CBVw) fMRI with iron oxide nanoparticle contrast agent were obtained with 110 × 110 × 500 μm3 resolution in urethane-anesthetized rats at 9.4 T. The baseline total CBV is the largest at the olfactory bulb surface and midline, and decreases in the deeper layers, while a band of increased microvasculature density is observed at the glomerular, external plexiform and mitral cell layers. With odor exposure, CBVw fMRI is more sensitive and reproducible than BOLD. BOLD fMRI had the greatest activation on the bulb surface, midline, olfactory nerve and glomerular layers, while CBVw activation peaked in glomerular and external plexiform layers, but was still significant in mitral cell layer. Negative BOLD responses were observed in the bulb midline and near large blood vessels. CBVw laminar profiles are similar to the layer-dependent metabolic changes to the same odor exposure reported by previous glucose metabolism studies. Unique activation patterns for two different odor conditions were also differentiated with CBVw fMRI. Our study suggests that CBVw activation better represents the spatial location of metabolic activity in the olfactory bulb than BOLD.
Vazquez AL, Fukuda M, Crowley JC, Kim S-G (2014) Neural and Hemodynamic Responses Elicited by Forelimb- and Photo-stimulation in Channelrhodopsin-2 Mice: Insights into the Hemodynamic Point Spread Function. Cereb Cortex, 24(11), 2908-2919. doi:10.1093/cercor/bht147. PMCID:PMC4193461. (Abstract)
Hemodynamic responses are commonly used to map brain activity; however, their spatial limits have remained unclear because of the lack of a well-defined and malleable spatial stimulus. To examine the properties of neural activity and hemodynamic responses, multiunit activity, local field potential, cerebral blood volume (CBV)-sensitive optical imaging, and laser Doppler flowmetry were measured from the somatosensory cortex of transgenic mice expressing Channelrhodopsin-2 in cortex Layer 5 pyramidal neurons. The magnitude and extent of neural and hemodynamic responses were modulated using different photo-stimulation parameters and compared with those induced by somatosensory stimulation. Photo-stimulation-evoked spiking activity across cortical layers was similar to forelimb stimulation, although their activity originated in different layers. Hemodynamic responses induced by forelimb- and photo-stimulation were similar in magnitude and shape, although the former were slightly larger in amplitude and wider in extent. Altogether, the neurovascular relationship differed between these 2 stimulation pathways, but photo-stimulation-evoked changes in neural and hemodynamic activities were linearly correlated. Hemodynamic point spread functions were estimated from the photo-stimulation data and its full-width at half-maximum ranged between 103 and 175 µm. Therefore, submillimeter functional structures separated by a few hundred micrometers may be resolved using hemodynamic methods, such as optical imaging and functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Vazquez AL, Murphy MC, Kim SG (2014) Neuronal and physiological correlation to hemodynamic resting-state fluctuations in health and disease. Brain Connect, 4(9), 727-740. doi:10.1089/brain.2014.0276. PMCID:PMC4238243. (Abstract)
Low-frequency, spatially coherent fluctuations present in functional magnetic resonance imaging time series have had a tremendous impact on brain connectomics. This work aims to explore the degree with which hemodynamic connectivity is associated with neuronal, metabolic, and vascular connectivity measures. For this purpose, GCaMP and nontransgenic mice were used to image neuronal activity and oxidative metabolism activity, respectively, along with blood-oxygenation- and cerebral blood volume (CBV)-sensitive hemodynamic changes from the same animals. Although network clusters calculated using either GCaMP (neuronal activity) or optical imaging of intrinsic signal (OIS)-BOLD (blood oxygenation) data did not exhibit strong spatial similarity, the strengths of node-to-node connectivity measured with these modalities were strongly correlated with one another. This finding suggests that hemodynamic connectivity as measured by blood oxygenation measurements, such as functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging, is a valuable surrogate for the underlying neuronal connectivity. In nontransgenic animals, greater connectivity correlation was observed between tissue oxidative metabolism (flavoprotein autofluorescence imaging [FAI]) and blood oxygenation measurements, suggesting that metabolic contributions to hemodynamic signals are likely responsible for its significant correlation with neuronal connectivity. Lastly, a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease was used to explore the source of decreases in connectivity reported in these mice, a finding that is thought to be associated with amyloid load-driven metabolic decline. The intercluster connectivity measured by metabolic-sensitive measurements (FAI and OIS-BOLD) was maintained while vascular-only signals (OIS-CBV) provided negligible correlation. Therefore, metabolism-sensitive measurements as used in this work are better positioned to capture changes in neuronal connectivity, such that decreases in hemodynamic connectivity likely reflect decreases in oxidative metabolic function.
Zong X, Lee J, Poplawsky AJ, Kim S-G, Ye JC (2014) Compressed sensing fMRI using gradient-recalled echo and EPI sequences. Neuroimage, 92, 312-321. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.01.045. PMCID:PMC4021580. (Abstract)
Compressed sensing (CS) may be useful for accelerating data acquisitions in high-resolution fMRI. However, due to the inherent slow temporal dynamics of the hemodynamic signals and concerns of potential statistical power loss, the CS approach for fMRI (CS–fMRI) has not been extensively investigated. To evaluate the utility of CS in fMRI application, we systematically investigated the properties of CS–fMRI using computer simulations and in vivo experiments of rat forepaw sensory and odor stimulations with gradient-recalled echo (GRE) and echo planar imaging (EPI) sequences. Various undersampling patterns along the phase-encoding direction were studied and k–t FOCUSS was used as the CS reconstruction algorithm, which exploits the temporal redundancy of images. Functional sensitivity, specificity, and time courses were compared between fully-sampled and CS–fMRI with reduction factors of 2 and 4. CS–fMRI with GRE, but not with EPI, improves the statistical sensitivity for activation detection over the fully sampled data when the ratio of the fMRI signal change to noise is low. CS improves the temporal resolution and reduces temporal noise correlations. While CS reduces the functional response amplitudes, the noise variance is also reduced to make the overall activation detection more sensitive. Consequently, CS is a valuable fMRI acceleration approach, especially for GRE fMRI studies.
Zong X, Wang P, Kim SG, Jin T (2014) Sensitivity and source of amine-proton exchange and amide-proton transfer magnetic resonance imaging in cerebral ischemia. Magn Reson Med, 71(1), 118-132. doi:10.1002/mrm.24639. PMCID:PMC3655131. (Abstract)
PURPOSE: Amide-proton transfer (APT) and amine-water proton exchange (APEX) MRI can be viable to map pH-decreasing ischemic regions. However, their exact contributions are unclear. METHODS: We measured APEX- and APT-weighted magnetization transfer ratio asymmetry (denoted as APEXw and APTw), apparent diffusion coefficient, T2 , and T1 images and localized proton spectra in rats with permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion at 9.4 T. Phantoms and theoretical studies were also performed. RESULTS: Within 1-h postocclusion, APEXw and APTw maps showed hyperintensity (3.1% of M0 ) and hypointensity (-1.8%), respectively, in regions with decreased apparent diffusion coefficient. Ischemia increased lactate and gamma aminobutyric acid concentrations, but decreased glutamate and taurine concentrations. Over time, the APEXw contrast decreased with glutamate, taurine, and creatine, whereas the APTw contrast and lactate level were similar. Phantom and theoretical studies suggest that the source of APEXw signal is mainly from proteins at normal pH, whereas at decreased pH, gamma aminobutyric acid and glutamate contributions increase, inducing the positive APEXw contrast in ischemic regions. The APTw contrast is sensitive to lactate concentration and pH, but contaminated from contributions of the faster APEX processes. CONCLUSION: Positive APEXw contrast is more sensitive to ischemia than negative APTw contrast. They may provide complementary tissue metabolic information.

2013

Fukuda M, Vazquez AL, Zong X, Kim SG (2013) Effects of the alpha(2)-adrenergic receptor agonist dexmedetomidine on neural, vascular and BOLD fMRI responses in the somatosensory cortex. Eur J Neurosci, 37(1), 80-95. doi:10.1111/ejn.12024. PMCID:PMC3538949. (Abstract)
This article describes the effects of dexmedetomidine (DEX) - the active ingredient of medetomidine, which is the latest popular sedative for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in rodents - on multiple unit activity, local field potential (LFP), cerebral blood flow (CBF), pial vessel diameter [indicative of cerebral blood volume (CBV)], and blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI. These measurements were obtained from the rat somatosensory cortex during 10 s of forepaw stimulation. We found that the continuous intravascular systemic infusion of DEX (50 mug/kg/h, doses typically used in fMRI studies) caused epileptic activities, and that supplemental isoflurane (ISO) administration of ~0.3% helped to suppress the development of epileptic activities and maintained robust neuronal and hemodynamic responses for up to 3 h. Supplemental administration of N(2)O in addition to DEX nearly abolished hemodynamic responses even if neuronal activity remained. Under DEX + ISO anesthesia, spike firing rate and the delta power of LFP increased, whereas beta and gamma power decreased, as compared with ISO-only anesthesia. DEX administration caused pial arteries and veins to constrict nearly equally, resulting in decreases in baseline CBF and CBV. Evoked LFP and CBF responses to forepaw stimulation were largest at a frequency of 8-10 Hz, and a non-linear relationship was observed. Similarly, BOLD fMRI responses measured at 9.4 T were largest at a frequency of 10 Hz. Both pial arteries and veins dilated rapidly (artery, 32.2%; vein, 5.8%), and venous diameter returned to baseline slower than arterial diameter. These results will be useful for designing, conducting and interpreting fMRI experiments under DEX sedation.
Jin T, Kim S-G (2013) Characterization of non-hemodynamic functional signal measured by spin-lock fMRI. Neuroimage, 78(Supplement C), 385-395. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.04.045. PMCID:PMC3685173. (Abstract)
Current functional MRI techniques measure hemodynamic changes induced by neural activity. Alternative measurement of signals originated from tissue is desirable and may be achieved using T1ρ, the spin-lattice relaxation time in the rotating-frame, which is measured by spin-lock MRI. Functional T1ρ changes in the brain can have contributions from vascular dilation, tissue acidosis, and potentially other contributions. When the blood contributions were suppressed with a contrast agent at 9.4 T, a small tissue-originated T1ρ change was consistently observed at the middle cortical layers of cat visual cortex during visual stimulation, which had different dynamic characteristics compared to hemodynamic fMRI such as a faster response and no post-stimulus undershoot. Functional tissue T1ρ is highly dependent on the magnetic field strength and experimental parameters such as the power of the spin-locking pulse. With a 500Hz spin-locking pulse, the tissue T1ρ without the blood contribution increased during visual stimulation, but decreased during acidosis-inducing hypercapnia and global ischemia, indicating different signal origins. Phantom studies suggest that it may have contribution from concentration decrease in metabolites. Even though the sensitivity is much weaker than BOLD and its exact interpretation needs further investigation, our results show that non-hemodynamic functional signal can be consistently observed by spin-lock fMRI.
Jin T, Wang P, Zong X, Kim SG (2013) MR imaging of the amide-proton transfer effect and the pH-insensitive nuclear overhauser effect at 9.4 T. Magn Reson Med, 69(3), 760-770. doi:10.1002/mrm.24315. PMCID:PMC3419318. (Abstract)
The amide proton transfer (APT) effect has emerged as a unique endogenous molecular imaging contrast mechanism with great clinical potentials. However, in vivo quantitative mapping of APT using the conventional asymmetry analysis is difficult due to the confounding nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) and the asymmetry of the magnetization transfer effect. Here, we showed that the asymmetry of magnetization transfer contrast from immobile macromolecules is highly significant, and the wide spectral separation associated with a high magnetic field of 9.4 T delineates APT and NOE peaks in a Z-spectrum. Therefore, high-resolution apparent APT and NOE maps can be obtained from measurements at three offsets. The apparent APT value was greater in gray matter compared to white matter in normal rat brain and was sensitive to tissue acidosis and correlated well with apparent diffusion coefficient in the rat focal ischemic brain. In contrast, no ischemia-induced contrast was observed in the apparent NOE map. The concentration dependence and the pH insensitivity of NOE were confirmed in phantom experiments. Our results demonstrate that in vivo apparent APT and NOE maps can be easily obtained at high magnetic fields and the pH-insensitive NOE may be a useful indicator of mobile macromolecular contents.
Moon CH, Fukuda M, Kim S-G (2013) Spatiotemporal characteristics and vascular sources of neural-specific and -nonspecific fMRI signals at submillimeter columnar resolution. Neuroimage, 64, 91-103. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.08.064. PMCID:PMC3508161. (Abstract)
The neural specificity of hemodynamic-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals is dependent on both the vascular regulation and the sensitivity of the applied fMRI technique to different types and sizes of blood vessels. In order to examine the specificity of MRI-detectable hemodynamic responses, submillimeter blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) and cerebral blood volume (CBV) fMRI studies were performed in a well-established cat orientation column model at 9.4 T. Neural-nonspecific and -specific signals were separated by comparing the fMRI responses of orthogonal orientation stimuli. The BOLD response was dominantly neural-nonspecific, mostly originating from pial and intracortical emerging veins, and thus was highly correlated with baseline blood volume. Uneven baseline CBV may displace or distort small functional domains in high-resolution BOLD maps. The CBV response in the parenchyma exhibited dual spatiotemporal characteristics, a fast and early neural-nonspecific response (with 4.3-s time constant) and a slightly slower and delayed neural-specific response (with 9.4-s time constant). The nonspecific CBV signal originates from early-responding arteries and arterioles, while the specific CBV response, which is not correlated with baseline blood volume, arises from late-responding microvessels including small pre-capillary arterioles and capillaries. Our data indicate that although the neural specificity of CBV fMRI signals is dependent on stimulation duration, high-resolution functional maps can be obtained from steady-state CBV studies.