Food-based multisensory stimulation ameliorates cognitive impairment after mild traumatic brain injury in male rats by modulating intestinal and brain inflammation.

ABSTRACT: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) often leads to cognitive impairment (CI), with neuroinflammation and gut microbiota dysbiosis playing pivotal roles in its pathogenesis. This study aimed to investigate whether food-based multisensory stimulation could ameliorate cognitive deficits in mTBI rats via modulation of the gut-brain axis. Using a rat model of mTBI, we demonstrated that food-based multisensory stimulation significantly improved spatial and recognition memory, as evidenced by performance in the Morris water maze and novel object recognition tests, and reduced serum biomarkers of neurological injury (NSE, S100β). Gut microbiota analysis revealed that sensory stimuli restored microbial balance, increasing beneficial taxa such as Ruminococcaceae and reducing pathogenic genera such as

SUBMITTER: Wei Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12948070 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature