Title Anatomical alterations in the contralateral brain hemisphere in an ischemic stroke model (tmcao) /
Translation of Title Anatominiai priešingo smegenų pusrutulio pakitimai išeminio insulto modelyje (tMCAo).
Authors Meškauskaitė, Eglė
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Pages 59
Keywords [eng] Diaschisis, ischemic stroke, tMCAO, MCAo, cortical alterations, changes in total area, changes in thickness, functional recovery, compensatory plasticity, anatomical reorganisation, hemispheres, corpus callosum, somatosensory cortex, motor cortex, visual cortex, amygdaloid complex, thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampal formation, dorsal striatum
Abstract [eng] Ischemic stroke remains one of the leading causes of mortality and long-term disability worldwide. While its primary damage is well analysed, less is known about anatomical alterations in distant, connected brain regions in a phenomenon known as diaschisis and understanding of these alterations is essential in case of pathology, treatment and recovery. This study aimed to analyse and compare post-stroke anatomical changes in cortical and subcortical brain regions of the ipsilateral to lesion and contralateral to lesion hemispheres using a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAo) mouse model which had induced lesion on left side. Male C57BL/6N mice were divided into Sham (control) and tMCAo (experimental) groups. Coronal brain sections were Nissl stained and analyzed across three Bregma intervals. Total area and cortical thickness were measured in selected brain regions (hemispheres, corpus callosum, somatosensory cortex, motor cortex, visual cortex, amygdaloid complex, thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampal formation and dorsal striatum) using Neurolucida 360 software and differences were statistically analysed using non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. Significant bilateral alterations were observed. On the ipsilateral to lesion side, total area was reduced in somatosensory and motor cortices, dorsal striatum and amygdaloid complex. In contrast, the contralateral to lesion side showed an increase in the total area of the right hemisphere and motor cortex. These findings validate the idea of anatomical reorganisation and support the diaschisis concept, contributing to a deeper understanding of stroke pathology and offering potential for targeted stroke recovery strategies as well as guidance for future ultrastructural studies using electron microscopy.
Dissertation Institution Vilniaus universitetas.
Type Master thesis
Language English
Publication date 2025