Blast-related mild TBI alters anxiety-like behavior and transcriptional signatures in the rat amygdala

Male Long Evans rats aging 10-12 weeks were exposed to repeated blast overpressure and then went through behavioral tests for anxiety and fear conditioning. After 1-1.5 months (sub-acute) or 12-13 months (chronic), amygdala tissue specimens from all animals were collected. RNA-seq was used to measure transcriptome-wide gene expression of sham and blast animals at different timepoints. The study identified changes in the amygdalar transcriptome and associated anxiety-related phenotypic outcomes related to both blast exposure and aging, which may play a role in the long-term pathological consequences of mTBI.