Neural Mechanisms of Impulsivity and Attention Following Traumatic Brain Injury
Blast related traumatic brain injury (blast-TBI) is the most common form of TBI in Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation New Dawn (OIF/OEF/OND) Veterans, and has been called a “signature injury” of these armed conflicts. While such blast overpressures (BOP) are often mild, repetitive blast exposures are common over the course of a military career and frequently results in persistent post-concussive symptoms and psychological dysfunction, leading to a significant negative impact on the Veterans’ quality of life, but treatment options are limited. The aims of the current study are centered on determining a role for augmented dopamine release in blast-induced behavioral dysfunction using an established mouse model of blast-TBI. Knowledge gained will provide translational evidence for the behavioral phenotype and associated dopamine dynamics seen following blast-TBI, as well as provide the basis for which potential pharmacotherapy efficacies can be tested.
