Induction of fatigue-like behavior by pelvic irradiation of male mice alters cognitive behaviors and BDNF expression.

ABSTRACT: Fatigue and cognitive deficits are often co-occurring symptoms reported by patients after radiation therapy for prostate cancer. In this study, we induced fatigue-like behavior in mice using targeted pelvic irradiation to mimic the clinical treatment regimen and assess cognitive behavioral changes. We observed that pelvic irradiation produced a robust fatigue phenotype, a reduced rate of spontaneous alternation in a Y-maze test, and no behavioral change in an open field test. We found that reversal learning for fatigued mice was slower with respect to time, but not with respect to effort put into the test, suggesting that fatigue may impact the ability or motivation to work at a cognitive task without impairing cognitive capabilities. In addition, we found that mice undergoing pelvic irrad

SUBMITTER: Wolff BS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7332074 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature