Impairment of cerebrovascular reactivity in response to hypercapnic challenge in a mouse model of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury.

ABSTRACT: Incidences of repetitive mild TBI (r-mTBI), like those sustained by contact sports athletes and military personnel, are thought to be a risk factor for development of neurodegenerative disorders. Those suffering from chronic TBI-related illness demonstrate deficits in cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), the ability of the cerebral vasculature to respond to a vasoactive stimulus. CVR is thus an important measure of traumatic cerebral vascular injury (TCVI), and a possible in vivo endophenotype of TBI-related neuropathogenesis. We combined laser speckle imaging of CVR in response to hypercapnic challenge with neurobehavioral assessment of learning and memory, to investigate if decreased cerebrovascular responsiveness underlies impaired cognitive function in our mouse model of chronic r-mTBI. W

SUBMITTER: Lynch CE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8142124 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature