First Demonstration That Brain Training Alters Macro- And Micro-Structure in a Mouse Model of Huntingtons Disease

Jessica Steventon¹, ², David Harrison², Rebecca Trueman, ²³, Simon Brooks², Anne Rosser², Derek K. Jones¹

Huntingtons Disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterised by brain atrophy and motor deficits. We carried out intensive brain training with HD mice and control mice aiming to replicate previously found functional benefits of cognitive training. Uniquely, we applied in vivo MRI (diffusion MRI and T2 RARE) to assess whether training induced structural changes. This is the first study to both apply in vivo diffusion MRI and tractography based on HARDI algorithms in a mouse model of HD, and demonstrate that tract-specific measurements provide sensitivity to detect microstructural changes as an effect of training, alongside macrostructural changes and functional gain.