Repeated mild traumatic brain injury can cause acute neurologic impairment without overt structural damage in juvenile rats.

ABSTRACT: Repeated concussion is becoming increasingly recognized as a serious public health concern around the world. Moreover, there is a greater awareness amongst health professionals of the potential for repeated pediatric concussions to detrimentally alter the structure and function of the developing brain. To better study this issue, we developed an awake closed head injury (ACHI) model that enabled repeated concussions to be performed reliably and reproducibly in juvenile rats. A neurological assessment protocol (NAP) score was generated immediately after each ACHI to help quantify the cumulative effects of repeated injury on level of consciousness, and basic motor and reflexive capacity. Here we show that we can produce a repeated ACHI (4 impacts in two days) in both male and female juvenile

SUBMITTER: Meconi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5940222 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature