Low-intensity focused ultrasound Reverses Cisplatin-Induced Cognitive Impairment in Rats: Behavioral and DTI Evidence

Motivation: Cisplatin-Induced cognitive impairment, resulting from chemotherapeutic agents, is typically addressed through pharmacological treatments absent of effective rehabilitation therapy. Goal(s): Aim to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (LIFUS), with a specific emphasis on the hippocampus, using an established animal model. Approach: We scrutinized the behavioral and cerebral alterations in rats with cisplatin chemotherapy, utilizing pre- and post-treatment behavioral phenotypes and diffusion weighted imaging (DTI) with a 9.4T MRI scanner. Results: Our findings revealed significant differences in indicators of biological behavior and DTI across specific brain regions in the LIFUS-treated group, suggesting that LIFUS holds potential in reversing brain damage. Impact: Our research helps to understand brain plasticity changes after LIFUS treatment with cisplatin chemotherapy, providing the theoretical support for future clinical intervention in chemotherapy related cognitive impairment.