Achievement

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) has become an increasing public health concern as subsequent injuries can exacerbate existing neuropathology and result in neurological deficits. Using a novel computational method of magnetic resonance imaging analysis, this study investigated the temporal development of cortical lesions following two contralateral mTBIs induced to opposite hemispheres at 3 and 7 days apart using the controlled cortical impact model. Histological measurements revealed spatial overlap of regions containing blood deposition and microglial activation within the cortices of all animals. The findings suggest that there is a window of tissue vulnerability where a second distant mTBI, induced 7d after an initial injury, exacerbates tissue abnormalities consistent with hemorrhagic progression. The related papers were published and presented at the Conference of Society of Neuroscience.