Microembolism induces anhedonia but no detectable changes in white matter integrity in aged rats.

ABSTRACT: Microvascular disease leads to alterations of cerebral vasculature including the formation of microembolic (ME) strokes. Though ME are associated with changes in mood and the severity and progression of cognitive decline, the effect of ME strokes on cerebral microstructure and its relationship to behavioral endpoints is unknown. Here, we used adult and aged male rats to test the hypotheses that ME lesions result in subtle changes to white and gray matter integrity as detected by high-throughput diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and that these structural disruptions correspond to behavioral deficits. Two weeks post-surgery, aged animals showed depressive-like behaviors in the sucrose consumption test in the absence of altered cerebral diffusivity as assessed by ex-vivo DTI. Furthermore, DTI in

SUBMITTER: Nemeth CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4014537 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature