Voxel-based morphometry for evaluating nigrostriatal damage in unilateral 6-OHDA-induced Parkinson’s rat model

Motivation: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta resulting in classical motor and nonmotor symptoms. Goal(s): Our goal was to characterise the gray matter atrophy in 6-OHDA PD model as compared to sham control. Approach: Structural MRI (3D T1W images) combined with behavioural techniques was used. Results: Voxel based morphometry (VBM) revealed reductions of gray matter volume in Fimbria (Ipsi), hippocampal formation (Ipsi) and accumbens nucleus (contra) in 3rd week PD and cerebellum (Ipsi and contra both) in 7th week PD as compared to sham. Impact: Identification of gray matter atrophy longitudinally helps in understanding the progression of structural alterations in response to dopaminergic cell loss.