Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) has become increasingly recognized as a serious health issue in the general population. Understanding the effects that this injury has on the neurons and support cells (glia) of the brain will provide us with a better knowledge on the underlying understanding of this injury. The prevalence of mTBI in athletes, particularly young athletes is of great concern as injury to the young brain can lead to long-lasting detrimental effects. The injury is known to have two phases; the primary phase, being the initial impact, followed by a secondary phase which constitutes a series of pathophysiological changes within the brain. Many studies focus on the outcome of male subjects; however past research has shown that females are more likely to experience more severe and long lasting symptoms. The goal of my research project will be to study the behavioural and neuroinflammatory effects of a repeated mTBI in juvenile female rats. To accomplish this, a novel awake closed-head injury model will be used to induce the injury. After 1-14 days, the rats will undergo behavioural testing to determine how mTBI affects anxiety and memory at different time points. Following behavioural testing, I will then study the microscopic anatomy of the brain tissue, using immunocytochemical staining procedures for specific markers to detect two neuroinflammatory glial cells, astrocytes and microglia, which are believed to be altered in response to injury. By understanding the behavioural and changes to the brain following repeated mTBI in juvenile female rats, we can gain better insights into the diagnosis and prognosis of this common injury.