Controlled Cortical Impact Leads to Cognitive and Motor Function Deficits that Correspond to Cellular Pathology in a Piglet Traumatic Brain Injury Model

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States, with children who sustain a TBI having a greater risk of developing long-lasting cognitive, behavioral, and motor function deficits. This has led to increased interest in utilizing large animal models to study pathophysiologic and functional changes after injury in hopes of identifying novel therapeutic targets. In the present study, a controlled cortical impact (CCI) piglet TBI model was utilized to evaluate cognitive, motor, and histopathologic outcomes. CCI injury (4 m/sec velocity, 9 mm depression, 400 msec dwell time) was induced at the parietal cortex. Compared with normal pigs (n = 5), TBI pigs (n = 5) exhibited appreciable cognitive deficiencies, including significantly impaired spatial memory in spatial T-maze testing and a significant decrease in exploratory behaviors followed by marked hyperactivity in open field testing. Additionally, gait analysis revealed significant increases in cycle time and stance percent, significant decreases in hind reach, and a shift in the total pressure index from the front to the hind limb on the affected side, suggesting TBI impairs gait and balance. Pigs were sacrificed 28 days post-TBI and histological analysis revealed that TBI lead to a significant decrease in neurons and a significant increase in microglia activation and astrogliosis/astrocytosis at the perilesional area, a significant loss in neurons at the dorsal hippocampus, and significantly increased neuroblast proliferation at the subventricular zone. These data demonstrate a strong relationship between TBI-induced cellular changes and functional outcomes in our piglet TBI model that lay the framework for future studies that assess the ability of therapeutic interventions to contribute to functional improvements.