The Effects of Forced Exercise on Traumatic Brain Injury
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a worldwide public health problem that can alter daily function and quality of life. TBIs affects approximately 1.5 million people in the United States annually and 300,000 of these TBIs are sports-related. Sports-related TBIs are generally known as concussions and have garnered attention due to the neurobehavioral outcomes that could arise from athletic training or exercise. This study aims to examine how forced exercise can affect TBI. This study was conducted by inducing stress via forced exercise and mild TBIs. Behavioral tests included elevated zero maze, novel object recognition, open field, and sucrose preference. Currently, sucrose preference analysis indicated a significance in TBI and stress interactions at p = 0.0064. Results show that after TBI there was a decreased consumption of sucrose, furthermore, the inclusion of stress greatly decreased consumption when comparing no TBI conditions. Results suggested a sex difference in the no TBI and TBI conditions. It was found that females consumed more sucrose than males with no TBI but males consumed more than females in the TBI condition. After completion, the rats were euthanized and brains were collected to conduct tissue analysis for neurological changes. The current findings suggest that interactions between stress and TBI worsens the effects of TBI. Overall, males with TBI were found to be less anhedonic compared to females, as well as males without TBI. These results could lead to further research opportunities to determine why males with TBIs are less anhedonic than females and healthy males.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. William Kochen
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Sherman Library
Start Date
4-5-2023 12:00 PM
End Date
4-6-2023 4:00 PM
The Effects of Forced Exercise on Traumatic Brain Injury
Alvin Sherman Library
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a worldwide public health problem that can alter daily function and quality of life. TBIs affects approximately 1.5 million people in the United States annually and 300,000 of these TBIs are sports-related. Sports-related TBIs are generally known as concussions and have garnered attention due to the neurobehavioral outcomes that could arise from athletic training or exercise. This study aims to examine how forced exercise can affect TBI. This study was conducted by inducing stress via forced exercise and mild TBIs. Behavioral tests included elevated zero maze, novel object recognition, open field, and sucrose preference. Currently, sucrose preference analysis indicated a significance in TBI and stress interactions at p = 0.0064. Results show that after TBI there was a decreased consumption of sucrose, furthermore, the inclusion of stress greatly decreased consumption when comparing no TBI conditions. Results suggested a sex difference in the no TBI and TBI conditions. It was found that females consumed more sucrose than males with no TBI but males consumed more than females in the TBI condition. After completion, the rats were euthanized and brains were collected to conduct tissue analysis for neurological changes. The current findings suggest that interactions between stress and TBI worsens the effects of TBI. Overall, males with TBI were found to be less anhedonic compared to females, as well as males without TBI. These results could lead to further research opportunities to determine why males with TBIs are less anhedonic than females and healthy males.
