Longitudinal, Multimodal Tracking Reveals Lasting Neurovascular Impact of Individual Microinfarcts

Microinfarcts, the "invisible lesions", are prevalent in aged and injured brains and associated with cognitive impairments, yet their neurophysiological impact remains largely unknown. Using a multimodal chronic neural platform that combines functional microvasculature imaging with spatially resolved neural recording, the neurovascular effect of a single microinfarct is investigated. Unlike larger strokes, microinfarcts induced only temporary suppression of neural activity with minimal cell death, with recovery paralleling vasculature remodeling at the infarct core. Neural activity is more severely suppressed at the shallower cortical layer despite milder vascular damage compared to deeper layers, and the excitability of fast-spiking interneurons attenuation is accompanied by heightened bursting of regular spiking neurons. Spike phase locking at the low-gamma band is disrupted, indicating a lasting impairment of long-range assembly communication. These results highlight the subtle yet significant neurovascular disruptions of a single microinfarct.

Micro-Coil Neuromodulation at Single-Cell and Circuit Levels for Inhibiting Natural Neuroactivity, Neutralizing Electric Neural Excitation, and Suppressing Seizures

Micromagnetic stimulation (µMS) emerges as a complementary method for neuromodulation. Despite major advances in neural interface technology, there are limited options for neural inhibition. Here, a microchip-based implantable micro-coil device is presented to achieve high spatial precision for cortical inhibition. Cortical in vivo two-photon imaging of spontaneous neural activity showed µMS reversibly suppressed single cells, and as µMS magnitude is increased, the suppressed cell population increased from 14% to 41%. At the circuit level, the average suppressed area is 0.05 mm2, seven times smaller than the activated area induced by micro-electrode stimulation (µES). It is discovered that neurons responded more strongly to µMS than to µES, which is exploited to effectively neutralize the neural excitation induced by concurrently delivered strong µES (80 µA). Moreover, µMS mitigates hyperactive neural firing caused by pharmacologically induced seizures, reducing seizure amplitude by 54%. These findings underscore the potential of µMS as a precise, effective, and versatile tool for localized neuromodulation with an effect of opposite polarity from µES. Complementing optogenetic and electrical stimulation for multi-functional neural interfaces, µMS holds promise as a unique neuroscience research tool and as a potential therapeutic intervention method for precisely suppressing hyperactive brain circuits.

Simultaneous Monitoring of Tyrosinase and ATP in Thick Brain Tissues Using a Single Two-Photon Fluorescent Probe

Cellular redox homeostasis and energy metabolism in the central nervous system are associated with neurodegenerative diseases. However, their real-time and concurrent monitoring in thick tissues remains challenging. Herein, a single dual-emission two-photon fluorescent probe (named DST) is designed for the simultaneous tracking of tyrosinase (TYR) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP), thereby enabling the real-time monitoring of both neurocellular redox homeostasis and energy metabolism in brain tissue. The developed DST probe exhibits excellent sensitivity and selectivity toward TYR and ATP, with distinctive responses in the blue and red fluorescence channels being observed without spectra crosstalk. Using this probe, the correlation and regulatory mechanism between TYR and ATP during oxidative stress are uncovered. Additionally, the two-photon nature of this probe allows alterations in the TYR and ATP levels to be monitored across different brain regions in an Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse model. Notably, a significant decrease in ATP levels is revealed within the somatosensory cortex (S1BF) and caudate putamen brain regions of an AD mouse, alongside an increase in TYR levels within the S1BF and laterodorsal thalamic nucleus brain regions. These findings indicate the potential of applying the spatially resolved regulation of neurocellular redox homeostasis and energy metabolism to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

A Pair of Indicators for Characterizing Cerebral Microbleeds Based on Raman Spectrum and Two-Photon Imaging

Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) lead to cognitive decline, linked to the axonal structure composed of phospholipid bilayers. Current methods are difficult to obtain in situ changes of biochemical component concentration during CMB. In this study, by Raman spectrum and two-photon imaging, we achieve in situ changes in the information of biochemical components concentration during CMB. The overall concentration of phospholipids in the damaged tissue significantly decreases after CMB, forming a large region of low concentration, but the relative concentration of phosphatidylinositol (PI) increases, reflecting the inhibition role of the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) pathway. Accordingly, two-photon images of neurons show a clear decrease in the number of axons, indicating a close correlation between phospholipid hydrolysis and axon damage, as well as cognitive impairment. Therefore, the decrease in phospholipid concentration and the increase in the PI concentration might serve as a pair of indicators for characterizing CMB and its relationship with cognitive decline.

Neuronal hypofunction and network dysfunction in a mouse model at an early stage of tauopathy

INTRODUCTION

It is unclear how early neuronal deficits occur in tauopathies, if these are associated with changes in neuronal network activity, and if they can be alleviated with therapies.

METHODS

To address this, we performed in vivo two-photon Ca2+ imaging in tauopathy mice at 6 versus 12 months, compared to controls, and treated the younger animals with a tau antibody.

RESULTS

Neuronal function was impaired at 6 months but did not deteriorate further at 12 months, presumably because cortical tau burden was comparable at these ages. At 6 months, neurons were mostly hypoactive, with enhanced neuronal synchrony, and had dysregulated responses to stimulus. Ex vivo, electrophysiology revealed altered synaptic transmission and enhanced excitability of motor cortical neurons, which likely explains the altered network activity. Acute tau antibody treatment reduced pathological tau and gliosis and partially restored neuronal function.

DISCUSSION

Tauopathies are associated with early neuronal deficits that can be attenuated with tau antibody therapy.

HIGHLIGHTS

Neuronal hypofunction in awake and behaving mice in early stages of tauopathy. Altered network activity disrupted local circuitry engagement in tauopathy mice. Enhanced neuronal excitability and altered synaptic transmission in tauopathy mice. Tau antibody acutely reduced soluble phospho-tau and improved neuronal function.