Functional connectivity within sensorimotor cortical and striatal regions is regulated by sepsis in a sex-dependent manner.

Sepsis is a state of systemic immune dysregulation and organ failure that is frequently associated with severe brain disability. Epidemiological studies have indicated that younger females have better prognosis and clinical outcomes relative to males, though the sex-dependent response of the brain to sepsis during post-sepsis recovery remains largely uncharacterized. Using a modified polymicrobial intra-abdominal murine model of surgical sepsis, we characterized the acute effects of intra-abdominal sepsis on peripheral inflammation, brain inflammation and brain functional connectivity in young adult mice of both sexes.