title: Post-operative environmental enrichment improves spatial and motor deficits but may not ameliorate anxiety- or depression-like symptoms in rats following traumatic brain injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Anxiety-like (ANX) and depression-like (DEP) symptoms are common consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Environmental enrichment (EE) attenuates many deficits, though its impact on ANX and DEP symptoms has yet to be described.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult male Long-Evans rats were subject to a medial frontal cortex (mFC) cortical impact injury or sham preparation, then placed into EE or standard housing (SE). ANX symptoms were analyzed using the open field test (OFT) and elevated plus maze (EPM). The forced swim task (FST) and sucrose consumption task (SCT) were used to quantify DEP symptoms. In order to measure changes in spatial learning and motor performance, the Barnes maze (BM) and rotor rod (RR) were utilized.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Damage to the mFC resulted in functional losses in motor and cognitive behavior and an increase in ANX and DEP symptoms. Placement of injured rats into the EE improves motor functioning after TBI and resulted in an decreased latency to locate the escape box in the BM. Though the application of an EE attenuated deficits in BM and RR performance, the ANX and DEP behavioral symptoms persisted.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Additional therapeutic approaches paired with EE may be necessary to address all functional changes post-TBI. Additionally, no single behavioral assessment appears to clearly identify symptoms of ANX or DEP in rats following TBI, however utilizing multiple tests can be potentially confounding.
authors: The Brain Research Laboratory, Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, MI, USA.
authors: Kasey E
authors: KE
authors: Moritz
authors: The Brain Research Laboratory, Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, MI, USA.
authors: Katalin
authors: K
authors: Geeck
authors: The Brain Research Laboratory, Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, MI, USA.
authors: Robert G
authors: RG
authors: Underly
authors: The Brain Research Laboratory, Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, MI, USA.
authors: Madeleine
authors: M
authors: Searles
authors: The Brain Research Laboratory, Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, MI, USA.
authors: Jeffrey S
authors: JS
authors: Smith
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004777:Environment; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005518:Food Preferences; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000451:nursing; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000451:nursing*; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D065853:Spatial Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D013395:Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013549:Sweetening Agents; D013550:Swimming / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D013549:Sweetening Agents; D013395:Sucrose
keywords: Traumatic brain injury; anxiety; depression; enriched environment; stereology