Ali Golestani1, Jonathan Kwinta1,2, Stephen Strother1,2, Yasha Khatamian1, and Jean Chen1,2
1Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest, Toronto, ON, Canada, 2Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Changes in the cerebrovascular reactivity
(CVR) in known to alter the amplitude of the task-based blood oxygenation level
dependent (BOLD) fMRI signal. The effect of CVR on resting-state functional
connectivity however is still unknown. In this study, we altered
within-individual CVR by manipulating the end-tidal CO2 (PETCO2)
level, and in each PETCO2 level we calculated CVR and resting-state
connectivity in the motor and executive control networks. rs-fMRI connectivity
is significantly influenced with CVR, irrespective of neural function. The
strength of this association varies between motor and executive control
networks. This study stresses the importance of vascular measurements to
remove biases in interpreting rs-fMRI connectivity.
