Roles of DMN subregions in modulating body-related signals in mouse visual cortex

Abstract

Default mode network (DMN) is a network of the human brain that is characterized by high level of spontaneous activity at rest, and decrease of activity during externally focused, or cognitively demanding tasks. Interestingly, networks of anatomically and structurally homologous regions have also been identified in humans. However, how electrophysiological signals and dynamic organization of these networks differ from that of humans is not known. In Part 1 of this study, I analyze the mouse DMN activity and its dynamics and compared it with its human counterpart. In part 2, I show that the mouse DMN is activated during motor coordination or body-related changes unlike in humans. I also report that body-related signal changes (passive body rotation) correlated to the extent and direction of body rotation in a DMN subregion (anteromedial visual cortex). These signals were modulated distinctively by two other subregions of DMN - secondary motor cortex and retrosplenial cortex.