Department
Biological Sciences
Major
Biological Sciences
Research Advisor
Semon, Julie A.
Advisor's Department
Biological Sciences
Funding Source
OURE
Abstract
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a serious problem affecting soldiers in training and during deployment. Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) accounts for over 80% of the TBIs recorded in soldiers in the last two decades. While symptoms may be mild initially,subjection to continued mTBIs could result in severe comorbidities appearing years later. Examination of current research available on mTBI shows an overwhelming skewing of murine animal models used as being solely male and of one age. With age and sex being known to have an affect on TBI, this project set out to explore the differences in severity in various age groups and genders. Using the Missouri Blast Model, a mTBI was inflicted on C57BL/6 mice with a single blast and they were monitored for 30 days. Assessment of the mice occured using the SNAP (Simple Neuroassessment of Asymmetric imPairment) Interactions test and a novel approach designed for tracking by this research team. This project showed that the affects of mTBI were identified in both the traditional SNAP assessment and with the novel tracking method. A larger difference was found between age groups than sex. Researchers were also able to show that the novel tracking method was indeed able to identify the effects of mTBI after 20 days when the traditional method was not. These results confirm the need to do further testing on differences and continue to refine the novel tracking method.
Biography
Jennifer is a Senior in Biological Sciences, minoring in Chemistry. Transferring in to S&T after completing her Associate's degree, Jennifer quickly became involved on campus. She's currently serving as the President of Phi Sigma Biological Sciences Honor Society and Secretary of the Equestrian Club. She's also a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success. Since coming to S&T, she has made it a habit to seek out mentorship and research opportunities on campus, being involved in three seperate projects in her two years here. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her children and volunteering her time to serve in leadership of their Boy Scouts of America Troop and Pack, hiking, camping, and reading. She hopes to spend her career researching Major Depressive Disorder and learning ways we can improve outcomes for those diagnosed with this disease.
Research Category
Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Award
Sciences – section 1 poster presentation, First place
Location
Upper Atrium
Presentation Date
14 Apr 2022, 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Assessing the Effects of Age and Sex on mTBI Severity
Upper Atrium
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a serious problem affecting soldiers in training and during deployment. Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) accounts for over 80% of the TBIs recorded in soldiers in the last two decades. While symptoms may be mild initially,subjection to continued mTBIs could result in severe comorbidities appearing years later. Examination of current research available on mTBI shows an overwhelming skewing of murine animal models used as being solely male and of one age. With age and sex being known to have an affect on TBI, this project set out to explore the differences in severity in various age groups and genders. Using the Missouri Blast Model, a mTBI was inflicted on C57BL/6 mice with a single blast and they were monitored for 30 days. Assessment of the mice occured using the SNAP (Simple Neuroassessment of Asymmetric imPairment) Interactions test and a novel approach designed for tracking by this research team. This project showed that the affects of mTBI were identified in both the traditional SNAP assessment and with the novel tracking method. A larger difference was found between age groups than sex. Researchers were also able to show that the novel tracking method was indeed able to identify the effects of mTBI after 20 days when the traditional method was not. These results confirm the need to do further testing on differences and continue to refine the novel tracking method.
