The Role of Inhibitory Thalamic Reticular Nucleus (TRN) in Brain-wide Resting-state Functional MRI (rsfMRI) Connectivity

Motivation: Despite the enormous potential inherent in rsfMRI, the neural basis underlying rsfMRI connectivity remains unclear. Goal(s): We aim to dissect the role of the TRN inhibitory neural population in rsfMRI connectivity given its prominent role in maintaining/regulating thalamo-cortical oscillations. Approach: We examined brain-wide activity and rsfMRI connectivity changes after optogenetically manipulating neural activity in rodent TRN. Results: We demonstrate that somatosensory-specific TRN inhibitory networks play a role in modulating rsfMRI connectivity of sensorimotor and default mode networks. Impact: Present studies examining neural basis of rsfMRI have primarily focused on excitatory networks. Here, we investigated the role of a major inhibitory thalamic nucleus to advance our understanding of the contributions of inhibitory inputs in regulating brain-wide rsfMRI networks.