Synopsis

A major challenge in mental health research has been the difficulty to directly translate from human symptoms to animal models that have unique behavioral repertoire. The brain circuit/network function, which can be readily measured using resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI), might provide a link between animal models and human patients. With this method, significant progress has been made that allows rodent’s brain circuit/network function to be reliably examined. Importantly, rsfMRI in rodents can be combined with multiple neuroscience approaches including optogenetics, DREADDs and electrophysiology, making it possible to further derive causal relationship between brain network function and behavior.