Abstract

Clinical studies consistently report structural impairments (i.e.: ventricular enlargement, decreased volume of anterior cingulate cortex or hippocampus) and functional abnormalities including changes in regional cerebral blood flow in individuals suffering from schizophrenia, which can be evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. The aim of this study was to assess cerebral blood perfusion in several schizophrenia-related brain regions using Arterial Spin Labelling MRI (ASL MRI, 9.4 T Bruker BioSpec 94/30USR scanner) in rats. In this study, prenatal exposure to methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM, 22 mg/kg) at gestational day (GD) 17 and the perinatal treatment with Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, 5 mg/kg) from GD15 to postnatal day 9 elicited behavioral deficits consistent with schizophrenia-like phenotype, which is in agreement with the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia. In MAM exposed rats a significant enlargement of lateral ventricles and perfusion changes (i.e.: increased blood perfusion in the circle of Willis and sensorimotor cortex and decreased perfusion in hippocampus) were detected. On the other hand, the THC perinatally exposed rats did not show differences in the cerebral blood perfusion in any region of interest. These results suggest that although both pre/perinatal insults showed some of the schizophrenia-like deficits, these are not strictly related to distinct hemodynamic features.

Details

Title
Different effects of prenatal MAM vs. perinatal THC exposure on regional cerebral blood perfusion detected by Arterial Spin Labelling MRI in rats
Author
Drazanova Eva 1 ; Ruda-Kucerova Jana 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Kratka Lucie 3 ; Stark, Tibor 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Kuchar, Martin 4 ; Maryska Michal 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Drago Filippo 5 ; Starcuk Zenon Jr 6 ; Micale Vincenzo 7 

1  Masaryk University, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Brno, Czech Republic (GRID:grid.10267.32) (ISNI:0000 0001 2194 0956); Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic (GRID:grid.438850.2) (ISNI:0000 0004 0428 7459) 
2  Masaryk University, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Brno, Czech Republic (GRID:grid.10267.32) (ISNI:0000 0001 2194 0956) 
3  Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic (GRID:grid.438850.2) (ISNI:0000 0004 0428 7459); University of Technology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication, Brno, Czech Republic (GRID:grid.438850.2) 
4  University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Forensic Laboratory of Biologically Active Substances, Department of Chemistry of Natural Compounds, Prague, Czech Republic (GRID:grid.448072.d) (ISNI:0000 0004 0635 6059) 
5  University of Catania, Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Catania, Italy (GRID:grid.8158.4) (ISNI:0000 0004 1757 1969) 
6  Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic (GRID:grid.438850.2) (ISNI:0000 0004 0428 7459) 
7  University of Catania, Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Catania, Italy (GRID:grid.8158.4) (ISNI:0000 0004 1757 1969); National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic (GRID:grid.447902.c) 
Publication year
2019
Publication date
2019
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-42532-z
ProQuest document ID
2210010159
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2019. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.