Differential impacts of social isolation and enriched environment on multi-sensory brain-wide functionality and network segregation

Motivation: Environmental conditions play an important role in how the brain develops. Many studies have been conducted on either enriched environment or social isolation with few conducting studies of both in tandem. Studies have shown region specific neurochemical or behavioral changes with few showing the global brain network changes. Goal(s): We aim to investigate how environment conditions alters both resting- and evoked- network segregation. Approach: Sensory stimulation and resting-state fMRI were utilized in mice exposed to either enriched, standard, or socially isolated conditions. Results: We observed impaired network segregation in socially isolated mice with the visual network being the most vulnerable to alterations. Impact: Our results emphasizes the global brain network changes due to environmental conditions. In particular, we show that both the visual and olfactory network are the most vulnerable to changes due to social isolation highlighting the importance of visual/olfactory social cues.