AUTHOR=Awwad Hibah O. , Gonzalez Larry P. , Tompkins Paul , Lerner Megan , Brackett Daniel J. , Awasthi Vibhudutta , Standifer Kelly M. TITLE=Blast Overpressure Waves Induce Transient Anxiety and Regional Changes in Cerebral Glucose Metabolism and Delayed Hyperarousal in Rats JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology VOLUME=6 YEAR=2015 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2015.00132 DOI=10.3389/fneur.2015.00132 ISSN=1664-2295 ABSTRACT=
Physiological alterations, anxiety, and cognitive disorders are strongly associated with blast-induced traumatic brain injury (blast TBI), and are common symptoms in service personnel exposed to blasts. Since 2006, 25,000–30,000 new TBI cases are diagnosed annually in U.S. Service members; increasing evidence confirms that primary blast exposure causes diffuse axonal injury and is often accompanied by altered behavioral outcomes. Behavioral and acute metabolic effects resulting from blast to the head in the absence of thoracic contributions from the periphery were examined, following a single blast wave directed to the head of male Sprague-Dawley rats protected by a lead shield over the torso. An 80 psi head blast produced cognitive deficits that were detected in working memory. Blast TBI rats displayed increased anxiety as determined by elevated plus maze at day 9 post-blast compared to sham rats; blast TBI rats spent significantly more time than the sham controls in the closed arms (