The Neurobiology of Voluntary Exercise: A Novel Approach to Alleviate Chemobrain by Promoting Hippocampal Neurogenesis

Overview

Arkansas for Medical Sciences Despite the improved and updated treatments available currently, breast cancer is the most prominent type of cancer among women worldwide. The common systemic chemotherapy, AC-T (Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide and Paclitaxel) in a dose dense regimen, causes toxic side effects to the nervous system, which includes chemobrain. Studies have indicated that exercise may reduce inflammation, influence gut -brain axis and alleviate long-term cognitive side effects. This study was aimed to decipher the ability of volu ntary exercise to alleviate chemotherapy - induced chemobrain in female mice. C57/BL6 female mice were single housed with or without a running wheel and were subjected to Adriamycin (2 mg/Kg BW) + Cyclophosphamide (50 mg/kg BW) once weekly for 4 weeks, followed Paclitaxel (5 mg/kg BW) once weekly for 4 weeks. Behavior study in anima ls, and protein expression of neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity markers, microglial and astrocytes viability, and inflammatory markers were done in hippocampus tissue. Proteomics and microbiome analysis were done in hippocampus tissue, and fecal samples respectively. AC-Tinduced neuroinflammation, impaired neurogenesis, and cognitive dysfunction. Behavior studies revealed that voluntary exercise was able to significantly alleviate the deficit in spatial memory. Voluntary exercise enhanced synaptic plasticity, modulate d microglial and astrocyte viability, decreased neuroinflammation, promoted neurogenesis in the hippocampus and preserved essential microbiota of the gut -brain axis, which might have contributed to the prevention of long-term cognitive deficit after chemotherapy. In conclusion, this study has provided evidence that voluntary exercise promotes hippocampal neurogenesis and may be useful as a potent adjuvant strategy to ameliorate chemobrain in breast cancer patients. California Northern NeoRhythm: A Neurocardiac Electrophysiology Based Explainable EEG and ECG System for Detection of Neonatal Seizures Roshan Amurthur The Harker School, San Jose, CA Neonatal seizures go frequently undetected since an estimated 85% lack obvious clinical signs. This poses significant risk of severe neurological damage or mortality if not promptly diagnosed and treated. Existing technologies are complex and rely on exper t interpretation, which is costly and inconsistent. Current neonatal seizure detection algorithms lack basis in seizure physiology, rendering them opaque to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) physicians. This undermines clinician confidence and limits adoption in clinical practice. NeoRhythm, a novel seizure detection system is proposed. It is the first AI-driven system to integrate electrocardiogram (ECG) data with electroencephalographic (EEG) signals via a multimodal fusion deep -learning (DL) architecture. We hypothesize that integrating physiologically based multi -modal data within an explainable deep-learning framework yields enhanced seizure detection accuracy and transparent clinical insights. We employed four -step engineering methodology that begins with robust data preprocessing (filtering, segmentation, artifact removal), proceeds to deep-learning model training to address class imbalance, integrates explainable AI (XAI) to provide clinically interpretable justifications, and concludes with clinica l protocol that centralizes signal acquisition and interpretability. Experimental results demonstrate that incorporation of ECG into EEG -based detection algorithms improves performance across benchmark models. Fusion architecture yields 94.9% sensitivity and 94.2% specificity, outperforming the current standard of care. Explainability features provide clinicians with transparent insights into physiology -based decision -making, building trust. Neurocardiac correlates provide confirmatory markers of seizure, a ugmenting deep-learning based models. NeoRhythm builds on existing vital -sign monitors and may assist resource-limited NICUs that lack on -site neurologists. NeoRhythm has the potential to improve neurological outcomes for newborns globally.

Competition history

• JSHS 2025 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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