Dyck Allison C F, Ivanco Tammy L
a Department of Psychology , University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
b Childrens Hospital Research Foundation of Manitoba , Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada.
Dev Neurorehabil. 2018 Oct;21(7):475-479. doi: 10.1080/17518423.2018.1460878. Epub 2018 Apr 12.
Young children have a high risk of concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Children often appear healthy soon after mTBI, but some have pervasive cognitive and/or motor impairments. Understanding underlying mechanisms recruited after concussion may help for return to play protocols and mitigating what might be lifelong impairments.
We investigated molecular and behavioral changes in a rat model of childhood concussion. Rats received an injury or sham procedure at an age approximately equivalent to the human period of early childhood. Social play was analyzed for behavioral differences. Tissue from the right motor cortex (impacted), left motor cortex, and medial prefrontal cortex were analyzed for brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protein.
Play behavior was not significantly different between conditions. BDNF levels were much higher in both the right and left motor cortices of the mTBI group compared to medial prefrontal cortex, which is relatively remote from the impact site, within the mTBI group and all tissue collected from the sham group.
There is ongoing plastic change at the cellular level in both the impacted area and the well-connected contralateral area after a concussion, suggesting compensatory mechanisms after injury are still at play.
幼儿有很高的脑震荡或轻度创伤性脑损伤（mTBI）风险。儿童在mTBI后通常很快看起来健康，但有些儿童会出现广泛的认知和/或运动障碍。了解脑震荡后所募集的潜在机制可能有助于制定重返比赛方案，并减轻可能出现的终身损伤。
我们研究了儿童脑震荡大鼠模型中的分子和行为变化。大鼠在大约相当于人类幼儿期的年龄接受损伤或假手术。分析社交行为以找出行为差异。对右侧运动皮层（受撞击）、左侧运动皮层和内侧前额叶皮层的组织进行脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）蛋白分析。
不同条件下的玩耍行为没有显著差异。与内侧前额叶皮层相比，mTBI组右侧和左侧运动皮层中的BDNF水平要高得多，内侧前额叶皮层相对远离撞击部位，无论是在mTBI组内还是从假手术组收集的所有组织中均如此。
脑震荡后，受撞击区域和连接良好的对侧区域在细胞水平上都存在持续的可塑性变化，这表明损伤后的补偿机制仍在起作用。
