FUNCTIONAL COMPENSATION AFTER CEREBELLAR STROKE: INSIGHTS FROM A PHOTOTHROMBOTIC MOUSE MODEL

Aging, neurodegenerative disorders, and brain injury can cause brain dysfunction, leading to various physical and cognitive impairments that markedly affect daily life. In the adult brain, the capacity for neuronal regeneration is extremely limited and is largely restricted to specific regions, such as the hippocampal dentate gyrus. Consequently, functional recovery after brain injury is generally thought to depend not on the generation of new neurons but rather on functional compensation, in which intact brain regions reorganize to substitute for the lost functions. Although rehabilitation can promote such recovery, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this compensatory process remain poorly understood.
The cerebellum exhibits a particularly high capacity for functional recovery through compensation by intact regions, even after cerebellar stroke, making it an excellent model for investigating the mechanisms underlying functional recovery. In this study, we aim to elucidate the cellular and molecular basis of functional compensation following cerebellar injury by analyzing behavioral changes and associated histological alterations after stroke. We induced focal cerebellar strokes using the photothrombosis method and identified a small cerebellar region primarily involved in motor function. We are currently analyzing the histological changes associated with behavioral impairment and subsequent recovery to clarify the mechanisms underlying functional compensation after cerebellar damage.