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Cognitive evaluation of traumatically brain-injured rats using serial testing in the Morris water maze

Thompson, Hilaire J ; LeBold, David G ; Marklund, Niklas LU orcid ; Morales, Diego M ; Hagner, Andrew P and McIntosh, Tracy K (2006) In Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience 24(2). p.14-109
Abstract

PURPOSE: As deficits in memory and cognition are commonly observed in survivors of traumatic brain injury (TBI), causing reduced quality of life for the patient, a major goal in experimental TBI research is to identify and evaluate cognitive dysfunction. The present study assessed the applicability of the serial Morris water maze (MWM) test to determine cognitive function following experimental TBI in the same group of rats which is particularly important for long-term studies and increasingly valuable for the evaluation of novel treatment strategies.

METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 27) were anesthetized and subjected to either sham injury (n = 9) or lateral fluid percussion (FP) brain injury of moderate severity (n = 18).... (More)

PURPOSE: As deficits in memory and cognition are commonly observed in survivors of traumatic brain injury (TBI), causing reduced quality of life for the patient, a major goal in experimental TBI research is to identify and evaluate cognitive dysfunction. The present study assessed the applicability of the serial Morris water maze (MWM) test to determine cognitive function following experimental TBI in the same group of rats which is particularly important for long-term studies and increasingly valuable for the evaluation of novel treatment strategies.

METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 27) were anesthetized and subjected to either sham injury (n = 9) or lateral fluid percussion (FP) brain injury of moderate severity (n = 18). At 4 weeks post-injury, animals were trained in a water maze over 3 days (acquisition/learning phase) to find a submerged platform. At 8 weeks post-injury the hidden platform was then moved to the opposite quadrant, and animals were trained to find the new position of the platform over 3 days. Forty-eight hours later, animals were tested for memory retention in a probe trial in which the platform was not present.

RESULTS: Brain-injured animals had significant learning impairment (p < 0.0001), shifted-learning impairment (p < 0.001) and memory retention deficits (p < 0.01) in comparison to their sham-injured counterparts over the 8 week testing period. Swim speed and distance were not significantly altered by brain injury at any time point.

CONCLUSION: The validation of this testing paradigm using a clinically relevant experimental brain injury model is an important addition to behavioral outcome testing.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
keywords
Animals, Behavior, Animal, Brain Injuries, Cognition, Disease Models, Animal, Male, Maze Learning, Rats, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Time Factors, Comparative Study, Evaluation Studies, Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
in
Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience
volume
24
issue
2
pages
14 - 109
publisher
IOS Press
external identifiers
  • pmid:16720946
  • scopus:33646699333
ISSN
0922-6028
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
7c0510f3-dea1-4536-81dc-1e19082b1f66
alternative location
https://content.iospress.com/articles/restorative-neurology-and-neuroscience/rnn00337
date added to LUP
2018-03-04 11:26:29
date last changed
2024-01-14 16:04:16
@article{7c0510f3-dea1-4536-81dc-1e19082b1f66,
  abstract     = {{<p>PURPOSE: As deficits in memory and cognition are commonly observed in survivors of traumatic brain injury (TBI), causing reduced quality of life for the patient, a major goal in experimental TBI research is to identify and evaluate cognitive dysfunction. The present study assessed the applicability of the serial Morris water maze (MWM) test to determine cognitive function following experimental TBI in the same group of rats which is particularly important for long-term studies and increasingly valuable for the evaluation of novel treatment strategies.</p><p>METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 27) were anesthetized and subjected to either sham injury (n = 9) or lateral fluid percussion (FP) brain injury of moderate severity (n = 18). At 4 weeks post-injury, animals were trained in a water maze over 3 days (acquisition/learning phase) to find a submerged platform. At 8 weeks post-injury the hidden platform was then moved to the opposite quadrant, and animals were trained to find the new position of the platform over 3 days. Forty-eight hours later, animals were tested for memory retention in a probe trial in which the platform was not present.</p><p>RESULTS: Brain-injured animals had significant learning impairment (p &lt; 0.0001), shifted-learning impairment (p &lt; 0.001) and memory retention deficits (p &lt; 0.01) in comparison to their sham-injured counterparts over the 8 week testing period. Swim speed and distance were not significantly altered by brain injury at any time point.</p><p>CONCLUSION: The validation of this testing paradigm using a clinically relevant experimental brain injury model is an important addition to behavioral outcome testing.</p>}},
  author       = {{Thompson, Hilaire J and LeBold, David G and Marklund, Niklas and Morales, Diego M and Hagner, Andrew P and McIntosh, Tracy K}},
  issn         = {{0922-6028}},
  keywords     = {{Animals; Behavior, Animal; Brain Injuries; Cognition; Disease Models, Animal; Male; Maze Learning; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Time Factors; Comparative Study; Evaluation Studies; Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{14--109}},
  publisher    = {{IOS Press}},
  series       = {{Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience}},
  title        = {{Cognitive evaluation of traumatically brain-injured rats using serial testing in the Morris water maze}},
  url          = {{https://content.iospress.com/articles/restorative-neurology-and-neuroscience/rnn00337}},
  volume       = {{24}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}