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. 2023 Mar 15:17:1134594.
doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2023.1134594. eCollection 2023.

7,8-dihydroxyflavone enhances long-term spatial memory and alters brain volume in wildtype mice

Florence Rawlings-Mortimer  1 , Alberto Lazari  1 , Cristiana Tisca  1 , Mohamed Tachrount  1 , Aurea B Martins-Bach  1 , Karla L Miller  1 , Jason P Lerch  1 , Heidi Johansen-Berg  1
Affiliations

7,8-dihydroxyflavone enhances long-term spatial memory and alters brain volume in wildtype mice

Florence Rawlings-Mortimer et al. Front Syst Neurosci. .

Abstract

Introduction: 7,8-dihydroxyflavone (7,8-DHF) is a low molecular weight compound that can cross the blood brain barrier and has been implicated in numerous functions and behaviours. It is thought to have neuroprotective capability and has been shown to alleviate symptoms in a wide range of diseases. Methods: 7,8-DHF was administered systemically to wildtype mice during Morris water maze training. Long-term spatial memory was assessed 28 days later. Ex-vivo T2-weighted (T2w) imaging was undertaken on a subset of these mice to assess brain-wide changes in volume. Results: We found that systemic 7,8-DHF administration during the training period enhanced spatial memory 28 days later. Volumetric changes were observed in numerous brain regions associated with a broad range of functions including cognition, sensory, and motor processing. Discussion: Our findings give the first whole brain overview of long-term anatomical changes following 7,8-DHF administration providing valuable information for assessing and understanding the widespread effects this drug has been shown to have in behaviour and disease.

Keywords: 7,8-dihydroxyflavone; Morris water maze; T2-weighted imaging; flavonoids; spatial memory; structural MRI.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Long-term memory performance in the Morris water maze. (A) Both the mice that received 7,8-DHF and vehicle following each training session successfully learnt the location of the platform during the training period. (B) The 7,8-DHF group spent a greater percentage of time in the target quadrant during the 28-day probe test. (C,D) The 7,8-DHF group found the platform quicker and crossed it more often than the controls. (E) Swim speed was equivalent between groups . Data presented mean ± SEM. *< 0.05, **< 0.01, ns: not significant.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Brain regions showing volume expansion and contraction following 7,8-DHF administration. Anatomical labels: Cg, cingulate cortex; Cl, claustrum; Hip, hippocampus; In, insular cortex; Orb, orbital cortex; S1, primary somatosensory; S2, secondary somatosensory; Th, thalamus; tt, tenia tecta; V1, primary visual.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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