Levodopa induced dyskinesia severity is linked to distinct microstructural alterations in nigrostriatal and brainwide neural circuits

In the unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine rat model, 53% of L-DOPA–treated rats developed severe L-DOPA induced dyskinesia linked to distinct microstructural alterations in neural circuits.

• Why it matters: It is unclear whether LID-related maladaptive brain changes are confined to nigrostriatal pathways or reflect broader brainwide network impact.
• What they did: Using multi-shell diffusion MRI with correlational tractography, the study mapped structural brain networks associated with daily L-DOPA administration and LID severity in the unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine rats.
• The result: Tractography produced brainwide maps of microstructural features positively and negatively associated with LID severity, implicating bilateral circuits in the lesioned nigrostriatal system plus regions including the cerebellum and prefrontal cortex.

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