Partial-Brain Radiation-Induced Microvascular Cognitive Impairment in Juvenile Murine Unilateral Hippocampal Synaptic Plasticity

Radiation-induced cognitive deficits have a severe negative impact on pediatric brain tumor patients. The severity of cognitive symptoms is related to the age of the child when radiation was applied, with the most severe effects seen in the youngest. Previous studies using whole-brain irradiation in mice confirmed these findings. To understand ipsilateral and contralateral changes in the hippocampus after partial-brain radiation therapy (PBRT) of the left hemisphere, we assessed the neuroplasticity and changes in the microvasculature of the irradiated and nonirradiated hippocampus in juvenile mice.