Prior housing conditions and sleep loss may affect recovery from brain injury in rats: A pilot study

Abstract

Abstract-The purpose of this study is to understand the effect of combat-associated conditions such as sleep deprivation (SD) on subsequent traumatic brain injury (TBI). Prior to TBI (or sham surgery) induced by controlled cortical impact (CCI), rats were housed singly in chambers that prevented rapid eye movement sleep or allowed unrestricted sleep (no SD). Sensorimotor function was tested pre-SD and retested on postoperative days (PDs) 4, 7, and 14. Two additional control groups were housed socially prior to either CCI or sham surgery. CCI resulted in immediate performance deficits on sensorimotor tasks. The PD on which performance returned to baseline depended on preinjury conditions. Overall, preinjury SD+CCI resulted in an earlier recovery than no SD+CCI, and the no SD+CCI group (housed singly under conditions comparable with the SD group) recovered slower than all other groups. These data are the first to raise the possibility that recovery of sensorimotor function following TBI is affected by preinjury conditions. The data suggest that preinjury SD 24 h in duration may result in faster recovery and that novel or social isolation conditions may impede recovery. Thus, the combat environment may contribute to complexities associated with TBIs common in U.S. servicemembers.

Recovery of Neurological Function Despite Immediate Sleep Disruption Following Diffuse Brain Injury in the Mouse: Clinical Relevance to Medically Untreated Concussion

“…It is likely that both rodent and man can recover from transient sleep disruption after brain injury without significant functional consequence. A recent study has shown sleep deprivation prior to injury accelerated recovery from TBI in rats 64 ; however, due to lack of suitable controls, it is unclear whether the sleep deprived state at the time of injury, or the sleep recovery after the injury is relevant to the acceleration of recovery. Further studies are needed to determine if sleep deprivation prior to injury is inherently beneficial.…”

Sleep disruption and the sequelae associated with traumatic brain injury

“…The persistent increased sleep need may reflect sleep insufficiency due to poor quality sleep (Sommerauer et al, 2013). Patients are often in isolated rooms as well which limits social interaction and worsens outcome (Riechers et al, 2013). When a patient is sleep deprived post-injury, one of the earliest clinical signs is the inability to sustain focused attention (Bloomfield et al, 2010).…”

Sleep-Wake Disturbances After Traumatic Brain Injury: Synthesis of Human and Animal Studies

“…203,204 Previous work showing a neuroprotective effect from sleep deprivation on TBI in rats may be partially explained by the increase in delta power. 205 Similarly, sleep deprivation prior to induction of focal cerebral ischemia in the rat 206 or TBI 207 is neuroprotective or at least does not increase neuronal susceptibility to injury. 208 Interestingly, there is also evidence that acute sleep deprivation induces neurogenesis in the hippocampus 209,210 and increases the expression of neurotrophins in the cortex.…”