Research challenges link between motor impairment and brain injury

Motor impairment following brain injury has long been thought to be purely anatomical, and that traumatic brain injury, stroke or other neurological injury results in abnormal muscle tightness and rigidity. Evidence of this belief is based on studies of people recovering from stroke and multiple animal brain injury models. However, a recent research article challenges this belief with compelling evidence, but suggests more studies are needed.

The study is published in the journal Function.

The authors addressed prior criticisms of their rat model preparation. The paper also furthered the field's understanding of the compensatory response that maintains the heart's force of contraction and blood pressure when heart output is reduced in response to unilateral brain injury.

Future studies in female rats are needed to account for hormonal sex differences that have not been as thoroughly explored in the scientific literature. Additional understanding of the signaling pathway at the terminal receptor will be crucial to providing nonopioid receptor targets that would not interfere with acute pain management.

"From a translational point of view, this represents a potential end goal where medications may be administered by [emergency medical services] or trauma center to improve acute and chronic outcomes from these unfortunately prevalent injuries," the researcher team wrote.