Behavioral, electrophysiological, and histopathological consequences of mild fluid-percussion injury in the rat

Metabolic dysfunction in the relay nuclei of the rat vibrissa circuit follo ws traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study examined the effects of mild (1 .4-1.5 atm) parasagittal fluid-percussion injury on the elctrophysiology of this circuit. TBI caused significant reductions in slope and increases in latency of vibrissa-evoked field potentials 3 days after injury. Assessment of open-field swimming revealed an increase in thigmotaxis 2 days after in jury. TBI caused mild selective cortical damage and limited axonal swelling at the injury site. Thus mild injury disrupts somatosensory electrophysiol ogy and exploratory behavior. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights res erved.