Enhanced attention in rats following blast-induced traumatic brain injury

Navarro, Victor M., Boehme, Nickolas, Wasserman, Edward A. and Harper, Matthew M. 2024. Enhanced attention in rats following blast-induced traumatic brain injury. Heliyon 10 (4) , e25661. 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25661

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Abstract

Purpose To evaluate visuo-cognitive sequelae following blast-induced traumatic brain injury in a rat model. Methods Rats were randomly assigned to one of four groups depending on the intensity/quantity of a blast received in a blast chamber: sham (no blast), low intensity (22 psi), medium intensity (26 psi), or three medium intensity blasts (26 psi × 3). After recovery, all subjects were given visual discrimination tasks of increasing complexity, until mastery. After behavioral training, visual function was assessed via spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and pattern electroretinogram, and the extent of retinal damage was quantified via immunohistochemistry of retinal ganglion cells. Results None of the measures assessing visual function revealed significant differences as a function of blast intensity/quantity. Behavioral training did not disclose short-term effects of blast in general motivation or the development of anticipatory responding. No differences in general learning ability and the number of perseverative errors were observed. However, behavioral training found effects of blast in attentional function; relative to controls, subjects that received blasts were faster in learning to attend to informative (over non-informative) cues in the most difficult visual discrimination task. Conclusion Blast exposure in rats resulted in increased attention following blast, with no appreciable deficits in visual function. These results are contrary to what is often reported for human clinical populations; as such, more research bridging methodological differences is necessary.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/, Start Date: 2024-01-31
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	2405-8440
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	13 February 2024
Date of Acceptance:	31 January 2024
Last Modified:	06 Mar 2024 15:13
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/166276

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