Functional Imaging Laboratory, German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany; Georg-August University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany; International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences, Göttingen, Germany
Judith Mylius
Functional Imaging Laboratory, German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
Functional Imaging Laboratory, German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
Jürgen Baudewig
Functional Imaging Laboratory, German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
Jaakko Paasonen
A.I.V. Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
Daniel Golkowski
Department of Neurology, Klinikum Rechts der Isar der Technischen Universität München, Munich, Germany; Department of Neurology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
Andreas Ranft
Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Klinikum Rechts der Isar der Technischen Universität München, Munich, Germany
Rüdiger Ilg
Department of Neurology, Klinikum Rechts der Isar der Technischen Universität München, Munich, Germany; Department of Neurology, Asklepios Stadtklinik Bad Tölz, Bad Tölz, Germany
Functional Imaging Laboratory, German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany; Georg-August University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany; International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences, Göttingen, Germany; Leibniz Science Campus Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
During deep anesthesia, the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal of the brain alternates between bursts of activity and periods of relative silence (suppressions). The origin of burst-suppression and its distribution across the brain remain matters of debate. In this work, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to map the brain areas involved in anesthesia-induced burst-suppression across four mammalian species: humans, long-tailed macaques, common marmosets, and rats. At first, we determined the fMRI signatures of burst-suppression in human EEG-fMRI data. Applying this method to animal fMRI datasets, we found distinct burst-suppression signatures in all species. The burst-suppression maps revealed a marked inter-species difference: in rats, the entire neocortex engaged in burst-suppression, while in primates most sensory areas were excluded—predominantly the primary visual cortex. We anticipate that the identified species-specific fMRI signatures and whole-brain maps will guide future targeted studies investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms of burst-suppression in unconscious states.
