Brain-Wide Interaction of Low Frequency Hippocampal Activity with Layer-Specific Cortical and Subcortical Regions: An Optogenetic Manganese-Enhanced MRI Study

Abstract

The hippocampus, including the dentate gyrus (DG), and the sensory cortices, which consist of six distinct layers, have reciprocal connections with the entorhinal cortex (EC). However, the low frequency hippocampal-cortical interactions and layer-specific cortical responses remains largely unknown. Combining the optogenetic stimulation and manganese-enhanced MRI, the present study revealed layer-specific responses of sensory cortices and EC involvement in hippocampal-cortical interactions during low frequency stimulation, but not high frequency, at dorsal DG. In summary, we demonstrated an effective combination of optogenetic stimulation and manganese-enhanced MRI to uncover the frequency-dependent and cortical layer-specific responses involved in brain-wide interactions.