Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-20-2026
Abstract
Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability and a leading monogenic cause of autism, arises from the loss of Fragile X Messenger Ribonucleoprotein (Fmr protein), leading to synaptic and cognitive dysfunction. Here, we demonstrate that the frequency-specific electrical stimulation of the medial septum/diagonal band of Broca (MSDB) can restore cognitive and synaptic impairments in Fmr1 knockout mice, a validated model of FXS. Thirty minutes of 35 Hz MSDB stimulation significantly improved subsequent recognition memory, sociability, spatial learning, and fear memory, with recognition memory enhancements persisting for up to 7 days after daily 30 min stimulations for 10 days. Electrophysiological recordings revealed that MSDB stimulation restored basal synaptic transmission and facilitation, and long-term potentiation in hippocampal CA1 neurons. These findings demonstrate that frequency-specific MSDB stimulation can re-engage dysfunctional hippocampal circuits and restore cognitive function in FXS, offering a promising non-pharmacological therapeutic strategy for neurodevelopmental disorders
Recommended Citation
Ouardouz, Mohamed; Hernan, Amanda E; Mahoney, J. Matthew; and Scott, Rodney C, "Stimulation of the medial septum diagonal band of broca rescues learning and memory deficits in Fmr1 KO mice" (2026). SKMC Student Presentations and Publications. Paper 84.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/skmcstudentworks/84
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Language
English
Comments
This article is the author's final published version in Journal of Vascular Surgery Cases, Innovations and Techniques, Volume 29, Issue 3, Article Number 115066.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvscit.2026.102147. Copyright © 2026 The Author(s).