Midazolam sedation increases fluctuation and synchrony of the resting brain BOLD signal.

The blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance signal of functional brain cortices is dominated by very low frequency (VLF) fluctuations in anesthetized child patients. The temporal synchrony of the BOLD signal is also higher in anesthetized children compared with awake adults. The origin of the synchronous fluctuations can be related to maturation, pathological status or the anesthesia used in the imaging.