ePoster

40Hz visual stimulation attenuates disrupted functional connectivity and restores hippocampal neuronal firing following microinfarcts

Phoebe Mayne, Montana Samantzis, Victor Daniel Vasquez Matsuda, Dongsheng Xiao, Matilde Balbi
FENS Forum 2024(2024)
Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Conference

FENS Forum 2024

Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Resources

Authors & Affiliations

Phoebe Mayne, Montana Samantzis, Victor Daniel Vasquez Matsuda, Dongsheng Xiao, Matilde Balbi

Abstract

Small vessel disease is characterized by stochastic occlusions of small vessels in the brain microvasculature. This results in impaired blood flow, increased blood-brain barrier permeability and neuronal cell death. While small vessel disease is the leading cause of vascular dementia, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive, limiting treatment options. Visual stimulation at specific frequencies can enhance neuronal activity, leading to remodelling of the cerebrovascular architecture. Specifically, evoked gamma oscillations through stimulation at 40Hz has been shown to rescue motor and cognitive function in mice following a cortical ischemic stroke and improve cognitive performance in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. Here we used non-invasive 40Hz visual stimulation to investigate whether evoked gamma oscillations restore disrupted subcortical-cortical dynamics following microinfarcts. We visualised neuronal activity and cerebrovascular hemodynamics using wide-field calcium imaging in awake head-fixed mice. Baseline calcium activity and hippocampal electrophysiological recordings were recorded prior to an endovascular injection of fluorescent microspheres (20μm in diameter) into the internal carotid artery, causing microinfarcts. We demonstrated that 40Hz stimulated mice exhibited an improvement in both motor behaviour and spatial memory compared to non-stimulated mice. Moreover, 40Hz stimulation restored cortical functional connectivity across the four weeks following stimulation. Using in vivo electrophysiology, we demonstrated that 40Hz selectively increased the firing rate of hippocampal inhibitory neurons during the stimulation session and normalised hippocampal neuronal activity to baseline. These results suggest that non-invasive 40Hz stimulation restores functional revascularisation and subcortical-cortical communication following microinfarcts, presenting a viable treatment option for small vessel disease.

Unique ID: fens-24/40hz-visual-stimulation-attenuates-disrupted-c9af3663