Contact

  • Work
    branigan@stanford.edu
    University - Staff Department: Psych/Major Laboratories and Clinical & Translational Neurosciences Incubator Position: Research Data Analyst 1

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 5778

All Publications

  • Space wandering in the rodent default mode network. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Nghiem, T. E., Lee, B., Chao, T. H., Branigan, N. K., Mistry, P. K., Shih, Y. I., Menon, V. 2024; 121 (15): e2315167121

    Abstract

    The default mode network (DMN) is a large-scale brain network known to be suppressed during a wide range of cognitive tasks. However, our comprehension of its role in naturalistic and unconstrained behaviors has remained elusive because most research on the DMN has been conducted within the restrictive confines of MRI scanners. Here, we use multisite GCaMP (a genetically encoded calcium indicator) fiber photometry with simultaneous videography to probe DMN function in awake, freely exploring rats. We examined neural dynamics in three core DMN nodes-the retrosplenial cortex, cingulate cortex, and prelimbic cortex-as well as the anterior insula node of the salience network, and their association with the rats' spatial exploration behaviors. We found that DMN nodes displayed a hierarchical functional organization during spatial exploration, characterized by stronger coupling with each other than with the anterior insula. Crucially, these DMN nodes encoded the kinematics of spatial exploration, including linear and angular velocity. Additionally, we identified latent brain states that encoded distinct patterns of time-varying exploration behaviors and found that higher linear velocity was associated with enhanced DMN activity, heightened synchronization among DMN nodes, and increased anticorrelation between the DMN and anterior insula. Our findings highlight the involvement of the DMN in collectively and dynamically encoding spatial exploration in a real-world setting. Our findings challenge the notion that the DMN is primarily a "task-negative" network disengaged from the external world. By illuminating the DMN's role in naturalistic behaviors, our study underscores the importance of investigating brain network function in ecologically valid contexts.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.2315167121

    View details for PubMedID 38557177

  • Space wandering in the rodent default mode network. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology Nghiem, T. E., Lee, B., Chao, T. H., Branigan, N. K., Mistry, P. K., Shih, Y. I., Menon, V. 2023

    Abstract

    The default mode network (DMN) is a large-scale brain network known to be suppressed during a wide range of cognitive tasks. However, our comprehension of its role in naturalistic and unconstrained behaviors has remained elusive because most research on the DMN has been conducted within the restrictive confines of MRI scanners. Here we use multisite GCaMP fiber photometry with simultaneous videography to probe DMN function in awake, freely exploring rats. We examined neural dynamics in three core DMN nodes- the retrosplenial cortex, cingulate cortex, and prelimbic cortex- as well as the anterior insula node of the salience network, and their association with the rats' spatial exploration behaviors. We found that DMN nodes displayed a hierarchical functional organization during spatial exploration, characterized by stronger coupling with each other than with the anterior insula. Crucially, these DMN nodes encoded the kinematics of spatial exploration, including linear and angular velocity. Additionally, we identified latent brain states that encoded distinct patterns of time-varying exploration behaviors and discovered that higher linear velocity was associated with enhanced DMN activity, heightened synchronization among DMN nodes, and increased anticorrelation between the DMN and anterior insula. Our findings highlight the involvement of the DMN in collectively and dynamically encoding spatial exploration in a real-world setting. Our findings challenge the notion that the DMN is primarily a "task-negative" network disengaged from the external world. By illuminating the DMN's role in naturalistic behaviors, our study underscores the importance of investigating brain network function in ecologically valid contexts.

    View details for DOI 10.1101/2023.08.31.555793

    View details for PubMedID 37693501

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10491169