Russell Wade Chan1, 2, Iris Y. Zhou1, 2, Leon C. Ho1, 2, Ed X. Wu1, 2
1Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; 2Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
This study explores the effects of pregnancy on resting-state functional connectivity in the rat brain. The results show that pregnancy alters the strength and spatial distribution of the fcMRI signals. Specifically, the effects of pregnancy at G17 increase the spontaneous fluctuations in fcMRI signal in the caudate putamen, hippocampus and thalamus; whereas the spontaneous fluctuations in fcMRI signal were similar in the motor cortex for the pregnant and non-pregnant group. The longitudinal effects of pregnancy, as well as, the effects on other functional networks are to be explored.