Peter S. LaViolette1, William Collier2, Kathleen M. Schmainda1,3, L Piacentine4, K L. Douville4, C R. Chitambar5, A Tran2, S A. Claesges4, S J. Durgerian6, Alan S. Bloom2,7
1Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; 2Pharmacology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; 3Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; 4Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; 5Neoplastic Diseases and Hematology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; 6Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; 7Psychiatry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
Systemic chemotherapy for breast and other cancers induces cognitive impairment in a significant proportion of patients who receive it. Often referred to as chemobrain, it is a common neurological deficit defined by a cohort of symptoms measurable through neuro-psychological testing. However, there are no quantitative brain imaging methods for measuring it functionally, and consequently no imaging methods to evaluate treatments that may improve function. This study uses functional connectivity and arterial spin labeling to serve this need, and measures connectivity changes between essential nodes of memory and attentional networks, and changes in cerebral blood flow in associated regions.