Objective   To observe behavioral characteristics and pathologic changes of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion in mice.    Methods   Totally 62 adult C57BL/6 mice were subjected to either sham-operation (n=31) or bilateral common carotid artery stenosis using external microcoils with an inner diameter of 0.18 mm(n=31). At 30 d after the stenosis

the animals of the 2 groups (8 mice for each group) underwent behavioral test of 8-arm radial maze. In 7

14 and 30 d

the rest mice were sacrificed for their brain tissue samples which were examined with Kluver-Barrera staining and immunohistochemical assay for markers of microglia and astroglia

glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and CD11b. In 14 d after the model establishment

Evans blue dye extravasation test was performed for the blood-brain barrier function.    Results   The model group made significantly more errors than sham-operated group in 8-arm radial maze test at 30 d after the surgery. White matter lesions occurred and the proliferation of activated microglia and astroglia were observed in white matter in model mice after 14 and 30 d bilateral common carotid artery stenosis. The disruption of blood-brain barrier function of model mice was indicated in the evans blue extravasation test at 14 d after bilateral common carotid artery stenosis.    Conclusion   Cognitive impairment

white matter lesions and glial activation are successfully induced after bilateral common carotid artery stenosis in mice model of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion.