Resting‐state functional connectivity modulates the BOLD activation induced by nucleus accumbens stimulation in the swine brain

Abstract

IntroductionWhile the clinical efficacy of deep brain stimulation (DBS) the treatment of motor‐related symptoms is well established, the mechanism of action of the resulting cognitive and behavioral effects has been elusive.MethodsBy combining functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and DBS, we investigated the pattern of blood‐oxygenation‐level‐dependent (BOLD) signal changes induced by stimulating the nucleus accumbens in a large animal model.ResultsWe found that diffused BOLD activation across multiple functional networks, including the prefrontal, limbic, and thalamic regions during the stimulation, resulted in a significant change in inter‐regional functional connectivity. More importantly, the magnitude of the modulation was closely related to the strength of the inter‐regional resting‐state functional connectivity.ConclusionsNucleus accumbens stimulation affects the functional activity in networks that underlie cognition and behavior. Our study provides an insight into the nature of the functional connectivity, which mediates activation effect via brain networks.

Regular exposure to a Citrus-based sensory functional food ingredient alleviates the BOLD brain responses to acute pharmacological stress in a pig model of psychosocial chronic stress

“…Here, we decided to use an fMRI approach with a neutral olfactory stimulation in order to assess the brain responses to a pharmacological stress. For further studies, a resting state fMRI approach should yield additional information regarding the impact of pharmacological stress on brain functional connectivity, as already described in the pig model with nucleus accumbens stimulation [37].…”

“…For several animals, we detected a loss of MR signal in the frontal lobe due to the anatomical presence of an air cavity anterior to the brain. This type of artefact can be corrected [37,38], but we decided to exclude this zone from the analysis which is depicted as dark regions on activation maps.…”

Nucleus Accumbens Functional Connectivity with the Frontoparietal Network Predicts Subsequent Change in Body Mass Index for American Children

“…Function of the NAc is believed to be modifiable through neuro-modulation [78]. NAc function has been modulated in both research and clinical settings [20,[79][80][81][82]. Smoking cessation and weight loss programs, for example, have used modalities that leverage NAc modification [78].…”

“…Some programs that have stimulated the NAc have generated promising results in reducing food craving, as well as treatment of obesity-induced food addiction and other cue-related disorders [78]. Deep brain stimulation of the NAc is also a technique that can be implemented in therapies [20,55,[79][80][81][82][83][84][85].…”

Nucleus accumbens deep brain stimulation improves depressive-like behaviors through BDNF-mediated alterations in brain functional connectivity of dopaminergic pathway

“…Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) is commonly used to observe resting brain activity, particularly functional connectivity (FC), a crucial parameter revealing remote neurophysiological events. An rsfMRI study demonstrated altered FC in various brain regions, such as the mPFC, cingulate, and insular cortex, due to NAc-DBS, suggesting its circuit-based modulatory impact ( Cho et al, 2019 ; Knight et al, 2013 ). NAc-DBS has shown the potential to enhance mitochondrial function in the dopaminergic pathway, leading to improved depression symptoms in TRD patients and animal models ( Kim et al, 2016 ; Millet et al, 2014 ).…”