Photoacoustic microscopy visualizes glioma-induced disruptions of cortical microvascular structure and function

Objective. Glioma growth may cause pervasive disruptions of brain vascular structure and function. Revealing both structural and functional alterations at a fine spatial scale is challenging for existing imaging techniques, which could confound the understanding of the basic mechanisms of brain diseases. Approach. In this study, we apply photoacoustic microscopy with a high spatial-temporal resolution and a wide field of view to investigate the glioma-induced alterations of cortical vascular morphology, hemodynamic response, as well as functional connectivity at resting- and stimulated- states. Main results. We find that glioma promotes the growth of microvessels and leads to the increase of vascular proportion in the cerebral cortex by deriving structural parameters. The glioma also causes the loss of response in the ipsilateral hemisphere and abnormal response in the contralateral hemisphere, and further induces brain-wide alterations of functional connectivity in resting and stimulated states. Significance. The observed results show the foundation of employing photoacoustic microscopy as a potential technique in revealing the underlying mechanisms of brain diseases.