Minimally invasive measurement of carotid artery and brain temperature in the mouse.

Purpose: Brain temperature is tightly regulated and reflects a balance between cerebral metabolic heat production and heat transfer between the brain, blood, and external environment. Blood temperature and flow are critical to the regulation of brain temperature. Current methods for measuring in vivo brain and blood temperature are invasive and impractical for use in small animals.

Host genetics maps to behaviour and brain structure in developmental mice.

Gene-environment interactions in the postnatal period have a long-term impact on neurodevelopment. To effectively assess neurodevelopment in the mouse, we developed a behavioural pipeline that incorporates several validated behavioural tests to measure translationally relevant milestones of behaviour in mice. The behavioral phenotype of 1060 wild type and genetically-modified mice was examined followed by structural brain imaging at 4 weeks of age.

Sex- and brain region-specific alterations in brain volume in germ-free mice.

Several lines of evidence demonstrate that microbiota influence brain development. Using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), this study examined the impact of microbiota status on brain volume and revealed microbiota-related differences that were sex and brain region dependent. Cortical and hippocampal regions demonstrate increased sensitivity to microbiota status during the first 5 weeks of postnatal life, effects that were greater in male germ-free mice.

Beyond genomic studies of congenital heart defects through systematic modelling and phenotyping.

Congenital heart defects (CHDs), the most common congenital anomalies, are considered to have a significant genetic component. However, despite considerable efforts to identify pathogenic genes in patients with CHDs, few gene variants have been proven as causal. The complexity of the genetic architecture underlying human CHDs likely contributes to this poor genetic discovery rate.

A cross-species analysis of neuroanatomical covariance sex difference in humans and mice.

Structural covariance in brain anatomy is thought to reflect inter-regional sharing of developmental influences - although this hypothesis has proved hard to causally test. Here, we use neuroimaging in humans and mice to study sex-differences in anatomical covariance - asking if regions that have developed shared sex differences in volume across species also show shared sex difference in volume covariance. This study design illuminates both the biology of sex-differences and theoretical models for anatomical covariance - benefitting from tests of inter-species convergence.

Automated classification of cerebral arteries and veins in the neonate using ultrafast doppler spectrogram.

Cerebral arterial and venous flow (A/V) classification is a key parameter for understanding dynamic changes in neonatal brain perfusion. Currently, transfontanellar ultrasound Doppler imaging is the reference clinical technique able to discriminate between A/V using vascular indices such as resistivity index (RI) or pulsatility index (PI). However, under conditions of slow arterial and venular flow, small signal fluctuations can lead to potential misclassifications of vessels.

Sex chromosomes and hormones independently influence healthy brain development but act similarly after cranial radiation.

The course of normal development and response to pathology are strongly influenced by biological sex. For instance, female childhood cancer survivors who have undergone cranial radiation therapy (CRT) tend to display more pronounced cognitive deficits than their male counterparts. Sex effects can be the result of sex chromosome complement (XX vs.

Brain volume and microglial density changes are correlated in a juvenile mouse model of cranial radiation and CSF1R inhibitor treatment.

Microglia have been shown to proliferate and become activated following cranial radiotherapy (CRT), resulting in a chronic inflammatory response. We investigated the role of microglia in contributing to widespread volume losses observed in the brain following CRT in juvenile mice. To manipulate microglia, we used low-dose treatment with a highly selective CSF1R inhibitor called PLX5622 (PLX).

The universe is asymmetric, the mouse brain too.

Hemispheric brain asymmetry is a basic organizational principle of the human brain and has been implicated in various psychiatric conditions, including autism spectrum disorder. Brain asymmetry is not a uniquely human feature and is observed in other species such as the mouse. Yet, asymmetry patterns are generally nuanced, and substantial sample sizes are required to detect these patterns.

Disproportionate neuroanatomical effects of haploinsufficiency in adolescence compared with adulthood: links to dopamine, connectivity, covariance, and gene expression brain maps in mice.

Background: Critical adolescent neural refinement is controlled by the DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer) protein, a receptor for the netrin-1 guidance cue. We sought to describe the effects of reduced on neuroanatomy in the adolescent and adult mouse brain.

Methods: We examined neuronal connectivity, structural covariance, and molecular processes in a -haploinsufficient mouse model, compared with wild-type mice, using new, custom analytical tools designed to leverage publicly available databases from the Allen Institute.

Perinatal exposure to atazanavir-based antiretroviral regimens in a mouse model leads to differential long-term motor and cognitive deficits dependent on the NRTI backbone.

Background: Combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) use in pregnancy has been pivotal in improving maternal health and reducing perinatal HIV transmission. However, children born HIV-exposed uninfected fall behind their unexposed peers in several areas including neurodevelopment. The contribution of ART exposure to these deficits is not clear.

Is a Regulator of Cocaine Responses through Control of Striatal and Cortical Excitability and Drug-Induced Plasticity.

Drugs of abuse induce neuroadaptations, including synaptic plasticity, that are critical for transition to addiction, and genes and pathways that regulate these neuroadaptations are potential therapeutic targets. () is an actin-regulating gene that plays an important role in synapse maturation and dendritic arborization and has been implicated in substance abuse and intellectual disability in humans. Here, we mine the KOMP2 data and find that 2 knock-out mice show emotionality phenotypes that are predictive of addiction vulnerability.

Comparative neuroimaging of sex differences in human and mouse brain anatomy.

In vivo neuroimaging studies have established several reproducible volumetric sex differences in the human brain, but the causes of such differences are hard to parse. While mouse models are useful for understanding the cellular and mechanistic bases of sex-specific brain development, there have been no attempts to formally compare human and mouse neuroanatomical sex differences to ascertain how well they translate. Addressing this question would shed critical light on the use of the mouse as a translational model for sex differences in the human brain and provide insights into the degree to which sex differences in brain volume are conserved across mammals.

TDP-43-M323K causes abnormal brain development and progressive cognitive and motor deficits associated with mislocalised and increased levels of TDP-43.

TDP-43 pathology is found in several neurodegenerative disorders, collectively referred to as "TDP-43 proteinopathies". Aggregates of TDP-43 are present in the brains and spinal cords of >97% of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and in brains of ∼50% of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients. While mutations in the TDP-43 gene (TARDBP) are usually associated with ALS, many clinical reports have linked these mutations to cognitive impairments and/or FTD, but also to other neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinsonism (PD) or progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

Network response of brain microvasculature to neuronal stimulation.

Neurovascular coupling (NVC), or the adjustment of blood flow in response to local increases in neuronal activity is a hallmark of healthy brain function, and the physiological foundation for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, it remains only partly understood due to the high complexity of the structure and function of the cerebrovascular network. Here we set out to understand NVC at the network level, i.

Brain-charting autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder reveals distinct and overlapping neurobiology.

Background: Autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are heterogeneous neurodevelopmental conditions with complex underlying neurobiology. Despite overlapping presentation and sex-biased prevalence, autism and ADHD are rarely studied together, and sex differences are often overlooked. Normative modelling provides a unified framework for studying age-specific and sex-specific divergences in neurodivergent brain development.

Organization of thalamocortical structural covariance and a corresponding 3D atlas of the mouse thalamus.

For information from sensory organs to be processed by the brain, it is usually passed to appropriate areas of the cerebral cortex. Almost all of this information passes through the thalamus, a relay structure that reciprocally connects to the vast majority of the cortex. The thalamus facilitates this information transfer through a set of thalamocortical connections that vary in cellular structure, molecular profiles, innervation patterns, and firing rates.