The Effect of Light Sedation with Midazolam on Functional Connectivity of the Dorsal Attention Network

Altered connectivity within and between the resting-state networks (RSNs) brought about by anesthetics that induce altered consciousness remains incompletely understood. It is known dorsal attention network (DAN) its anticorrelations with other RSNs have been implicated in consciousness. However, role of DAN-related functional patterns drug-induced sedative effects less clear. In current study, we investigated DAN during midazolam-induced light sedation. a placebo-controlled within-subjects experimental fourteen healthy volunteers received midazolam or saline 1-week interval. Resting-state fMRI data were acquired before after intravenous drug administration. A multiple region interest-driven analysis was employed to investigate RSNs. found significantly decreased injection two regions located left inferior parietal lobule middle temporal area as compared condition. We also identified three clusters anticorrelation for interaction effect, which included medial prefrontal cortex, right superior gyrus, frontal gyrus. Connectivity all injection. The sensorimotor minimally affected. Midazolam network. These findings advance understanding neural mechanism sedation, such might clinical implications medical conditions related patients cognitive impairment.