Glial activation in the thalamus contributes to vestibulomotor deficits following blast-induced neurotrauma in male Sprague Dawley rats

STUDY PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess vestibulomotor deficits following repeated blast-induced traumatic brain injury in male Sprague Dawley rats and quantify associated glial activation in the thalamus and amygdala at one month post-injury. DATA COLLECTED: Repeated blast exposure was performed in an Advanced Blast Simulator (ABS) where the injury group (n = 11) was exposed to three blast overpressures (115 kPa) spaced one hour apart. The sham group underwent all procedures, but were placed adjacent to the ABS (n = 10). Behavioral tests such as the accelerating rotor rod (RR) task and open field test (OFT) were conducted at 1- and 3- weeks following blast exposure. Immunohistochemistry was conducted at 4 weeks post-injury to measure GFAP and IBA-1 in the ventrolateral nuclei (VL), laterodorsal nuclei (LD), and central medial nuclei (CM) of the thalamus as well as the basolateral amygdaloid complex (BLA). The area fraction, count per area, integrated density of fluorescence and mean area per cell were quantified using ImageJ. Statistical analysis was performed using a student's t-test comparing the blast and sham groups where p < 0.05 was significant. DATA USAGE NOTES: