bioRxiv Science⌕ Search

Biology subjects

Sanatkhani, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Sanatkhani, S..

2 recordsLinked to original sources
bioRxiv2025

Alteration of Water Exchange Rates Following Focused Ultrasound-Mediated BBB Opening in the Dorsal Striatum of Non-Human Primates: A Diffusion-Prepared pCASL Study

This study applied diffusion-prepared pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (DP-pCASL) to quantify cerebral blood flow (CBF), arterial transit time (ATT), and blood-brain barrier (BBB) water exchange rate (Kw) before and after focused ultrasound (FUS)-mediated blood-brain barrier opening (BBBO) in the dorsal striatum of four non-human primates. Six baseline and seven BBBO sessions were performed. DP-pCASL was acquired approximately 45 minutes after FUS sonication combined with intravenous microbubbles, and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging was subsequently used to confirm the BBBO region. Whole-brain analyses revealed no significant changes in CBF or ATT following BBBO (permutation p > 0.05). Region-of-interest analysis within the sonicated caudate demonstrated a significant localized decrease in Kw, with median (IQR) values of 45.0 (40.6 - 55.6) min-1 at the BBBO site versus 61.6 (58.3 - 70.4) min-1 in the contralateral control region (p < 0.05), confirming spatially specific suppression of transendothelial water flux. In contrast, whole-brain Kw increased significantly following BBBO, with median (IQR) values of 49.8 (46.3 - 55.9) min-1 in non-BBBO sessions versus 59.4 (56.6 - 66.3) min-1 in BBBO sessions (p < 0.01), indicating a diffuse enhancement of water exchange across the brain. These findings establish DP-pCASL-derived Kw as a sensitive, non-contrast biomarker for both local and global BBB permeability changes induced by focused ultrasound, supporting its potential for longitudinal monitoring in preclinical and clinical neurotherapeutic applications.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2023

Alteration of functional connectivity in the cortex and major brain networks of non-human primates following focused ultrasound exposure

Focused ultrasound (FUS) is a non-invasive neuromodulation technology that is being investigated for potential treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Focused ultrasound combined with microbubbles can temporarily open the intact blood-brain barrier (BBB) of animals and humans, and facilitate drug delivery. FUS exposure, either with or without microbubbles, has been demonstrated to alter the behavior of non-human primates, and previous work has demonstrated transient and long-term effects of FUS neuromodulation on functional connectivity using resting state functional MRI. However, it is unknown whether opening the BBB affects functional connectivity differently than FUS alone. Thus we applied FUS alone (neuromodulation) and FUS with microbubbles (BBB opening) in the dorsal striatum of lightly anesthetized non-human primates, and compared changes in functional connectivity in major brain networks. We found different alteration patterns between FUS neuromodulation and FUS-mediated BBB opening in several cortical areas, and we also found that applying FUS to a deep brain structure can alter functional connectivity in the default mode network and frontotemporal network.

neuroscience↗