Abstract #3084

Preliminary Evidence of Abnormalities in the Prefrontal Cortex of 10 Weeks Old Ts65Dn Mouse Model of Down Syndrome Using DKI-Cerebral Microenvironment Modeling.

Xingju Nie¹, Edward S. Hui¹, Jens H. Jensen¹, Joseph A. Helpern¹,², Ann-Charlotte E. Granholm-Bentley², Heather A. Boger², Maria F. Falangola¹,²

¹Radiology and Radiological Science, Center for Biomedical Imaging, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States; ²Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States

The goal of this study was to utilize a recently developed cerebral microenvironment modeling (CMM) method to investigate the morphological abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex of young Ts65Dn mice. CMM relates diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) data to specific biophysical tissue characteristics. We demonstrated that CMM parameters are sensitive indicators of changes in the complexity of the neurite architecture associated with abnormal brain development and maturation in this model.