Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects 2 million individuals in the United States each year, ranging from mild concussions to severe trauma or, in about 50,000 cases, even death. TBI survivors endure long-lasting memory loss and cognitive impairments associated with frontal lobe disturbances, as well as psychological consequences. TBI models in the laboratory have been associated for decades with declines in long-term learning and memory, although the types of behavioral tests performed to date have not focused on the complex attention impairments related to the frontal lobe, which are common in most brain injuries. Specifically, higher-order cognitive capabilities such as sustained attention and executive functioning are significantly affected by TBI and represent sophisticated brain capacities to direct and focus cognitive activity on specific stimuli or use environmental feedback to ?unlearn? a previously valid set of rules, switch gears and filter unwanted distractions, respectively. The overarching aim of this proposal is to assess clinically- relevant cognitive-behavioral dimensions sensitive to TBI, and to begin to address mechanistic questions regarding altered neurotransmission responsible for such behavioral deficits. Specifically, the aims are designed to 1) determine higher-order cognitive function capabilities, namely sustained attention via the 3-choice serial reaction time task and cognitive flexibility via the attentional set-shifting test, after moderate TBI, which are tasks that have not been assessed after experimental TBI and 2) evaluate moderate TBI-induced changes in brain markers of monoamine regulation, such as vesicular monoamine transporter 2, tryptophan hydroxylase and tyrosine hydroxylase in [discrete brain regions critical for directly or indirectly modulating] goal directed behavior and executive function. The proposed studies will be carried out in both male and normal cycling female rats, an approach that is clinically relevant. Specifically, females account for up to 45% of the TBI population and these injuries occur independent of estrous stage and therefore evaluating normal cycling females parallels the real world. Integrating animal models of higher-order cognition in the standard neurotrauma battery of behavior after TBI as well as assessing monoamine regulation in cortical regions not well studied after TBI is paramount to investigating complex cognitive problems and finding therapeutic targets more relevant to the clinic. This two-year R03 grant will generate preliminary data that will serve as proof-of-concept for an NIH R01 individual grant application, allowing future work to also evaluate potential pharmacological and rehabilitative therapies for TBI-induced cognitive dysfunction.

Public Health Relevance

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes long-lasting cognitive impairments, as well as psychological consequences, but the behavioral tests performed to date after experimental TBI have primarily focused on motor and spatial learning deficits and not on the complex attention impairments related to the frontal lobe, which are common in most brain injuries. This R03 application aims to evaluate deficits of complex, higher-order, cognitive processes after experimental TBI, such as sustained attention and executive function/cognitive flexibility, and to begin to address mechanistic questions regarding altered neurotransmission responsible for such behavioral deficits. Integrating animal models of higher-order cognitive processing in the standard neurotrauma behavioral battery after TBI it is paramount to investigate complex cognitive problems and finding therapeutic targets more relevant to the clinic, and therefore the proposed studies will be carried out in males and females, an approach which is clinically relevant and thus may prove extremely valuable for successful translation from bench to bedside and advanced rehabilitation research.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Small Research Grants (R03)
Project #
1R03NS094950-01A1
Application #
9182178
Study Section
Brain Injury and Neurovascular Pathologies Study Section (BINP)
Program Officer
Bellgowan, Patrick S F
Project Start
2016-07-01
Project End
2018-06-30
Budget Start
2016-07-01
Budget End
2017-06-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
$77,000
Indirect Cost
$27,000
Name
University of Pittsburgh
Department
Physical Medicine & Rehab
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
004514360
City
Pittsburgh
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
15213
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de la Tremblaye, Patricia B; O'Neil, Darik A; LaPorte, Megan J et al. (2018) Elucidating opportunities and pitfalls in the treatment of experimental traumatic brain injury to optimize and facilitate clinical translation. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 85:160-175
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Niesman, Peter J; Wei, Jiahui; LaPorte, Megan J et al. (2018) Albeit nocturnal, rats subjected to traumatic brain injury do not differ in neurobehavioral performance whether tested during the day or night. Neurosci Lett 665:212-216
de la Tremblaye, Patricia B; Wellcome, Jody L; de Witt, Benjamin Wells et al. (2017) Rehabilitative Success After Brain Trauma by Augmenting a Subtherapeutic Dose of Environmental Enrichment With Galantamine. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 31:977-985
de la Tremblaye, Patricia B; Bondi, Corina O; Lajud, Naima et al. (2017) Galantamine and Environmental Enrichment Enhance Cognitive Recovery after Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury But Do Not Confer Additional Benefits When Combined. J Neurotrauma 34:1610-1622
Free, Kristin E; Greene, Anna M; Bondi, Corina O et al. (2017) Comparable impediment of cognitive function in female and male rats subsequent to daily administration of haloperidol after traumatic brain injury. Exp Neurol 296:62-68

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