MRI reveals brain asymmetry following 6-OHDA lesions in the mouse brain

Introduction Injection of the dopaminergic neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the striatum or medial forebrain bundle (MFB) is classically used to model Parkinsonism, but is increasingly used in a range of disease models [1]. Standard histological techniques are generally used to study the development and extent of the lesion, but it is not possible to use these techniques in-vivo. MRI offers an opportunity to perform non-invasive longitudinal studies of lesion development. Here we present some early work investigating brain morphology ex vivo by looking at brain symmetry following a unilateral lesion.