Pre-operative environmental enrichment does not yield a prophylactic effect against traumatic brain injury-induced neurobehavioral deficits.
Publication/Presentation Date
1-1-2025
Abstract
The robustness of environmental enrichment (EE) in ameliorating neurobehavioral and cognitive deficits after experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI) is unequivocal. What is equivocal is whether EE can function as a prophylactic to afford resiliency and neuroprotection against TBI. We hypothesized that pre-operative EE would yield a protective effect against TBI-induced motor, cognitive, and coping deficits, and that further improvements would be conferred when EE is provided before and after TBI. To test the hypotheses, adult male rats received either 4 weeks of EE or standard (STD) housing prior to undergoing a controlled cortical impact of moderate severity (2.8 mm deformation at 4 m/s) or sham injury while under anesthesia. After injury, the rats were randomly assigned to post-operative EE or STD housing. Motor ability, spatial learning, and memory retention were assessed by beam-walk and water maze tests, respectively. Active and passive behavioral coping strategies were evaluated with the shock probe defensive burying (SPDB) test. c-Fos and cortical lesion volume were also quantified. The post-TBI enrichment groups (EE + TBI + EE and STD + TBI + EE) did not differ (p > 0.05) and performed better than the post-TBI STD-housed groups (EE + TBI + STD and STD + TBI + STD) on motor and cognition (p < 0.05). The post-TBI STD groups did not differ, regardless of whether in EE or STD living conditions before injury (p > 0.05). Moreover, both post-TBI enrichment groups performed better in the SPDB test relative to the STD + TBI + STD group (p < 0.05). c-Fos + cells were upregulated in the ipsilateral CA
Volume
383
First Page
114990
Last Page
114990
ISSN
1090-2430
Published In/Presented At
Moschonas, E. H., Steber, J. A., Capeci, H. E., Donald, H. M., Vozzella, V. J., Bittner, R. A., Annas, E. M., Rennerfeldt, P. L., Cheng, J. P., Bondi, C. O., & Kline, A. E. (2025). Pre-operative environmental enrichment does not yield a prophylactic effect against traumatic brain injury-induced neurobehavioral deficits. Experimental neurology, 383, 114990. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2024.114990
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
39389162
Department(s)
Medical Education
Document Type
Article