ASSESSING COGNITIVE AND MOTOR FUNCTION AFTER CEREBRAL THROMBOSIS IN MICE

Ischemic stroke remains one of the leading causes of death and long-term disability worldwide. Its impact, measured in disability-adjusted life years, is estimated at approximately 160 million, reflecting the substantial burden of stroke, including motor and cognitive sequelae. Accordingly, the development of experimental models is essential to improve our understanding of this disease, its effects, underlying mechanisms, and implications for future treatments.

In this study, adult male CD1 mice aged 16 weeks underwent cerebral thrombosis induced by topical application of ferric chloride to the left common carotid artery. Behavioral performance was evaluated before and after ischemia. Spatial memory was assessed using a water Y-maze and measured as escape latency to a hidden platform, while motor coordination was evaluated using the rotarod test and quantified as latency to fall. In addition, a subset of animals underwent positron emission tomography (PET) imaging 72 hours after ischemia to assess cerebral metabolic activity.

Preliminary results indicate preserved performance on global behavioral measures following ischemia relative to baseline, despite the presence of neurological signs, suggesting physiological and functional compensation. Consistently, PET revealed metabolic patterns comparable to those observed in control mice. Ongoing analyses aim to provide a more sensitive characterization of behavior, including error types and learning strategies, to identify subtle cognitive alterations not captured by latency measures. Together, these findings highlight the importance of integrating quantitative and qualitative behavioral analyses to improve the characterization of post-ischemic functional outcomes and to identify recovery trajectories relevant for translational research.