Work

An Approach for Identifying Brainstem Dopaminergic Pathways Using Resting State Functional MRI

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: Here, we present an approach for identifying brainstem dopaminergic pathways using resting state functional MRI. In a group of healthy individuals, we searched for significant functional connectivity between dopamine-rich midbrain areas (substantia nigra; ventral tegmental area) and a striatal region (caudate) that was modulated by both a pharmacological challenge (the administration of the dopaminergic agonist bromocriptine) and a dopamine-sensitive cognitive trait (an individual's working memory capacity). A significant inverted-U shaped connectivity pattern was found in a subset of midbrain-striatal connections, demonstrating that resting state fMRI data is sufficiently powerful to identify brainstem neuromodulatory brain networks.

Source: PLoS ONE

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0087109

Authors: Jason Vytlacil, Andrew Kayser, Asako Miyakawa, Mark D’Esposito

Institutions: University of California, Berkeley, University of California, San Francisco

Language: English

Topic: Functional Brain Connectivity Studies

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,382