# Neural Mechanisms of Impulsivity and Attention Following Traumatic Brain Injury

> **NIH VA IK2** · VA PUGET SOUND HEALTHCARE SYSTEM · 2020 · —

## Abstract

Military occupational exposure to blast overpressure from improvised explosive devices can lead to
mild traumatic brain injury (blast-TBI), resulting in debilitating persistent post-concussive symptoms (PPCS)
and psychological dysfunction, but diagnoses and treatment options are limited. Common PPCS complaints of
Veterans with blast histories include both cognitive difficulties and physiological symptoms. Likewise, common
psychological dysfunctions include impulse control disorders, substance abuse, post traumatic stress disorder,
depression and anxiety, but the causal mechanisms remain unknown. Therefore, increases in preclinical
research efforts using rodent models are required to provide much needed insight into the underlying
mechanisms by which blast-TBI contributes to subsequent dysfunction. While rodent models of blast-TBI have
largely focused on potential memory-related cognitive effects, no study to date has utilized rodent models to
examine the effects of blast exposure on impulsivity or attention, which are common and recurring complaints
of blast exposed Veterans and are highly implicated in psychological dysfunction among civilian populations.
Likewise, the neuromodulator dopamine plays a critical role in reward processing and decision making, and in
civilian populations, perturbations of phasic dopamine release have been implicated in a variety of
psychological dysfunctions that are similar in nature to those seen following blast-TBI. Surprisingly, few
studies to date have investigated a role for dopamine dysfunction following blast exposure. The current
proposal seeks to fill these knowledge gaps and will combine a mouse model of blast-induced TBI, fast scan
cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) to measure subsecond nucleus accumbens (NAc) phasic dopamine release, and
behavioral measures of impulsivity and attention. Aim one will examine the near and long-term consequences
of single and repetitive blast exposure on the mesolimbic dopamine system using FSCV and electrical
stimulation of discrete brain regions. Aim two will examine the near and long-term consequences of single and
repetitive blast exposure on measures of impulsivity and attention, and will determine a potential role for
augmented phasic dopamine release following blast in these behaviors. In rodent models, maladaptive
measures of impulsivity and attention have been linked to an increase in phasic NAc dopamine
neurotransmission. Therefore, based on the large number of blast-TBI Veterans presenting with impulsivity
and attention impairments and our preliminary data demonstrating a blast-induced increase in impulsivity
related behaviors and stimulated phasic dopamine release, we hypothesize that blast exposure will result in
increased NAc dopamine release that in turn drives maladaptive measures of impulsivity and attention. These
experiments are intended to further our understanding of the behavioral and neurochemical mechanisms
underlying blast-TBI dysfunction, and will be an imp...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9859327
- **Project number:** 5IK2BX003258-04
- **Recipient organization:** VA PUGET SOUND HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** Abigail G Schindler
- **Activity code:** IK2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-01-01 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9859327

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9859327, Neural Mechanisms of Impulsivity and Attention Following Traumatic Brain Injury (5IK2BX003258-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9859327. Licensed CC0.

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