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MacKinnon MJ, Song S, Chao THH, Hsu LM, Albert ST, Ma Y, Shnitko TA, Wang TWW, Nonneman RJ, Freeman CD, Ozarkar SS, Emir UE, Shen MD, Philpot BD, Hantman AW, Lee SH, Chang WT, Shih YYI. SORDINO for Silent, Sensitive, Specific, and Artifact-Resisting fMRI in awake behaving mice. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2025:2025.03.10.642406. [PMID: 40161795 PMCID: PMC11952411 DOI: 10.1101/2025.03.10.642406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/02/2025]
Abstract
Blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has revolutionized our understanding of the brain activity landscape, bridging circuit neuroscience in animal models with noninvasive brain mapping in humans. This immensely utilized technique, however, faces challenges such as acoustic noise, electromagnetic interference, motion artifacts, magnetic-field inhomogeneity, and limitations in sensitivity and specificity. Here, we introduce Steady-state On-the-Ramp Detection of INduction-decay with Oversampling (SORDINO), a transformative fMRI technique that addresses these challenges by maintaining a constant total gradient amplitude while acquiring data during continuously changing gradient direction. When benchmarked against conventional fMRI on a 9.4T system, SORDINO is silent, sensitive, specific, and resistant to motion and susceptibility artifacts. SORDINO offers superior compatibility with multimodal experiments and carries novel contrast mechanisms distinct from BOLD. It also enables brain-wide activity and connectivity mapping in awake, behaving mice, overcoming stress- and motion-related confounds that are among the most challenging barriers in current animal fMRI studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin J. MacKinnon
- Center for Animal MRI, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Sheng Song
- Center for Animal MRI, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Tzu-Hao Harry Chao
- Center for Animal MRI, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Li-Ming Hsu
- Center for Animal MRI, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Scott T. Albert
- Neuroscience Center and Department of Cell Biology & Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Yuncong Ma
- Center for Animal MRI, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Tatiana A. Shnitko
- Center for Animal MRI, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Tzu-Wen Winnie Wang
- Center for Animal MRI, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Randy J. Nonneman
- Center for Animal MRI, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Corey D. Freeman
- Neuroscience Center and Department of Cell Biology & Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Siddhi S. Ozarkar
- Neuroscience Center and Department of Cell Biology & Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Uzay E. Emir
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Mark D. Shen
- Neuroscience Center and Department of Cell Biology & Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Benjamin D. Philpot
- Neuroscience Center and Department of Cell Biology & Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Adam W. Hantman
- Neuroscience Center and Department of Cell Biology & Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Sung-Ho Lee
- Center for Animal MRI, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Wei-Tang Chang
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Yen-Yu Ian Shih
- Center for Animal MRI, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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Liu X, Hike D, Choi S, Man W, Ran C, Zhou XA, Jiang Y, Yu X. Identifying the bioimaging features of Alzheimer's disease based on pupillary light response-driven brain-wide fMRI in awake mice. Nat Commun 2024; 15:9657. [PMID: 39511186 PMCID: PMC11543808 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53878-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2024] [Indexed: 11/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Pupil dynamics has emerged as a critical non-invasive indicator of brain state changes. In particular, pupillary-light-responses (PLR) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients show potential as biomarkers for brain degeneration. To investigate AD-specific PLR and its underlying neuromodulatory sources, we combine high-resolution awake mouse fMRI with real-time pupillometry to map brain-wide event-related correlation patterns based on illumination-driven pupil constriction (P c ) and post-illumination pupil dilation recovery (amplitude,P d , and time, T). TheP c -driven differential analysis reveals altered visual signal processing and reduced thalamocortical activation in AD mice in comparison with wild-type (WT) control mice. In contrast, the post-illumination pupil dilation recovery-based fMRI highlights multiple brain areas associated with AD brain degeneration, including the cingulate cortex, hippocampus, septal area of the basal forebrain, medial raphe nucleus, and pontine reticular nuclei (PRN). Additionally, the brain-wide functional connectivity analysis highlights the most significant changes in PRN of AD mice, which serves as the major subcortical relay nuclei underlying oculomotor function. This work integrates non-invasive pupil-fMRI measurements in preclinical models to identify pupillary biomarkers based on brain-wide functional changes, including neuromodulatory dysfunction coupled with AD brain degeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaochen Liu
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - David Hike
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Sangcheon Choi
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Weitao Man
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Chongzhao Ran
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Xiaoqing Alice Zhou
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Yuanyuan Jiang
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Xin Yu
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
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