An Overview of Anesthetic Procedures for Ferret (Mustela putorius furo) Preclinical Brain MRI: A Call for Standardization

Neuroscience research has been increasingly active during the last 2 decades, largely driven by the high prevalence and increasing burden of neurologic disorders. While rodents are essential models for biomedical research of neurologic disorders, they lack similar brain anatomy and protein expression profiles to humans, thus limiting their translational value as models of traumatic brain injury, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. The use of ferrets as a model species in neuroscience has been increasing due to their neuroanatomical similarities with humans, including a gyrencephalic brain and larger white matter-to-gray matter ratio. Compared with nonhuman primates, sheep, and swine, ferrets also have the advantages of reduced size, lower housing costs, and lower phylogenetic order. These, among other advantages, make ferrets a promising species to bridge research gaps and complement traditional rodent studies. Although modern neuroscience research in ferrets relies heavily on advanced imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), most of the preclinical MRI installations are not designed or optimized for use with ferrets. In this paper we discuss the intricacies and limitations that need to be considered when performing ferret MRI procedures. Reviews of ferret biologic peculiarities, anesthetic protocols, management of complications, and the impact of these factors on MRI outcomes are presented. Standardizing anesthesia protocols for the conduct of MRI in ferrets will aid in better physiologic monitoring as well as imaging outcomes that ultimately benefit the science being conducted.