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Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging reveals the effects of intravesical electrical stimulation on brain activity and functional connectivity in rats with detrusor underactivity

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The central mechanisms of intravesical electrical stimulation (IVES) were explored in a rat model of detrusor underactivity (DU) induced by bilateral pelvic nerve crush (bPNC). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) was used to evaluate regional homogeneity (ReHo) and functional connectivity (FC). Eighteen female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to sham, bPNC, or IVES groups. The IVES group received 20-minute daily stimulations for 20 days after bPNC. Following treatment, rs-fMRI, cystometry, and immunofluorescence staining for ΔFosB (neuronal activity marker) and GAP43 (axonal plasticity marker) were performed. Compared with bPNC rats, IVES significantly reduced maximum cystometric capacity and post-void residual volume, and increased detrusor pressure variation during voiding. The bPNC group had higher bladder capacity, increased filling-phase pressure variation, and lower voiding pressure than the sham group. Compared to sham and IVES rats, bPNC rats showed reduced ReHo in the right striatum and periaqueductal gray (PAG). FC between the right striatum and bilateral somatosensory cortex, and between the right PAG and left cerebellum, was weaker in bPNC rats. ΔFosB expression in the right striatum and PAG was higher in bPNC rats than in sham and IVES groups. IVES may improve DU via modulation of neuronal activity in the right striatum and PAG and enhancing FC between the right striatum and somatosensory cortex, and between the right PAG and left cerebellum. • This is the first functional magnetic resonance imaging evidence that intravesical electrical stimulation is effective in detrusor underactivity by a central mechanism. • Intravesical electrical stimulation ameliorated detrusor underactivity and gradually normalized abnormal ΔFosB expression in the right striatum and periaqueductal gray. • Intravesical electrical stimulation enhances regional homogeneity in the right striatum and periaqueductal gray while strengthening functional connectivity in sensory-motor and cerebellar networks, suggesting multi-target neuromodulation as a therapeutic mechanism. • The results may inform targeted neuromodulation therapy for DU.

Source: Brain Research Bulletin

DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2025.111576

Authors: Han Deng, Limin Liao, Xing Li, Yixi Liu, Zitian He, Haoyu Sun