Department of Psychology.
Behavioural Science Institute.
Behav Neurosci. 2020 Oct;134(5):384-393. doi: 10.1037/bne0000413.
Mild traumatic brain injuries are known to cause a host of symptoms, including headaches, nausea, and depression, that when persistent, are known as postconcussive syndrome. In addition to these overt symptomologies, individuals may experience changes in day-to-day behavior or temperament, which although not meeting criteria for postconcussive diagnosis, does cause distress to the individual. The aim of this study was to determine whether we could measure temperament in a rat and, if so, determine whether temperament is altered in response to repetitive mild traumatic brain injuries (RmTBI). Forty male and female adolescent Sprague-Dawley rats were same-sex pair housed and subjected to RmTBIs or sham injuries. The rats were recorded at 6 different time points throughout the study for the temperament assessment protocol, a measure of the complex behavioral profile of each rat within its dyadic home cage environment. The temperaments were quantified via a novel behavioral scoring algorithm. The rats were also tested on a battery of tests that were designed to measure symptoms of postconcussion syndrome. We determined that rodent temperament is quantifiable, is sex dependent, changes with age, and is modifiable in response to experiential factors such as RmTBI. Rats that received the RmTBIs were significantly less active and showed decreased levels of social interaction compared with their sham-injury counterparts. Moreover, both task switching and recovery patterns for RmTBI rats were dependent on the injury status of their cage mates. Future studies are now required to determine the mechanisms underlying these important changes in temperament. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
轻度创伤性脑损伤已知会引起一系列症状，包括头痛、恶心和抑郁，如果持续存在，则称为脑震荡后综合征。除了这些明显的症状外，个体可能会经历日常行为或脾气的变化，尽管不符合脑震荡后诊断标准，但会给个体带来痛苦。本研究旨在确定我们是否可以在大鼠中测量气质，如果可以，是否可以确定气质是否因反复轻度创伤性脑损伤（RmTBI）而改变。40 只雄性和雌性青春期 Sprague-Dawley 大鼠进行了同性配对饲养，并接受了 RmTBI 或假损伤。在整个研究过程中，这些大鼠在 6 个不同的时间点进行了气质评估方案的记录，该方案是对每个大鼠在其对偶笼环境中的复杂行为特征进行的测量。气质通过一种新的行为评分算法进行量化。这些大鼠还接受了一系列旨在测量脑震荡后综合征症状的测试。我们确定，啮齿动物的气质是可量化的，依赖于性别，随年龄而变化，并且可以通过经验因素（如 RmTBI）进行调节。接受 RmTBI 的大鼠的活动明显减少，与假损伤组相比，社交互动水平降低。此外，RmTBI 大鼠的任务转换和恢复模式都依赖于其笼伴的损伤状况。现在需要进行进一步的研究，以确定这些气质重要变化背后的机制。
