Cognitive impairment due to ischemic stroke in female rats is associated with secondary neurodegeneration, and attenuated with microRNA‐20a‐3p as assessed by diffusion tensor MR imaging and histological analysis

Cognitive changes measured with remote fear memory retrieval and NORT were associated with reduced density of major forebrain white matter tracts due to stroke and enlarged ventricular volume indicative of cell loss. This was observed in the entorhinal cortex, a region involved with contextual memory processing. These stroke-induced deficits were attenuated in Mir-20-3p treated animals, indicating that microRNA treatment attenuated secondary neurodegeneration.