Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40899103›Full record

ArticleJournal of neurotrauma2026

Longitudinal Effects of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury on the Gut Microbiome and Acoustic Startle Response in Male and Female Rats.

Christopher E Stamper, Tara P Cominski, Andrew J Hoisington, Christine W Yoe, Xena M Agbolou, Victoria A Stiritz, Alejandro Interian, Marianne Goodman, Erin A Hazlett, Catherine E Myers and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of neurotrauma, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Christopher E StamperVeterans Affairs Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Rocky Mountain Regional Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Aurora, Colorado, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5584-6212
Tara P CominskiDepartment of Veterans Affairs, Neurobehavioral Research Lab, Research & Development Service, VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, New Jersey, USA.
Andrew J HoisingtonVeterans Affairs Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Rocky Mountain Regional Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Christine W YoeDepartment of Veterans Affairs, Neurobehavioral Research Lab, Research & Development Service, VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, New Jersey, USA.
Xena M AgbolouDepartment of Veterans Affairs, Neurobehavioral Research Lab, Research & Development Service, VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, New Jersey, USA.
Victoria A StiritzDepartment of Veterans Affairs, Neurobehavioral Research Lab, Research & Development Service, VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, New Jersey, USA.
Alejandro InterianMental Health and Behavioral Services, VA New Jersey Health Care Service, Lyons, New Jersey, USA.
Marianne GoodmanVISN 2 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), James J. Peters Veterans Administration, Bronx, New York, USA.
Erin A HazlettVISN 2 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), James J. Peters Veterans Administration, Bronx, New York, USA.
Catherine E MyersResearch Service, Veteran Affairs New Jersey Health Care Service, East Orange, New Jersey, USA.
Kevin D BeckDepartment of Veterans Affairs, Neurobehavioral Research Lab, Research & Development Service, VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, New Jersey, USA.
Lisa A BrennerVeterans Affairs Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Rocky Mountain Regional Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Aurora, Colorado, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2629-214X

Funding

BLRD VA I01 BX004561CSRD VA IK6 CX002700
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) frequently occur and can lead to lasting negative cognitive, physical, and mental health outcomes. The biological response to even mild TBIs (mTBI) includes well-characterized inflammatory sequelae that start immediately post-injury, remain for weeks, and can develop into long-term systemic inflammation. Studies have shown that TBI influences multiple physiological systems, including the gastrointestinal tract, through bidirectional communication modulated, in part, by the gut microbiome. Brainstem functioning post-TBI, as measured by acoustic startle sensorimotor processing, might play a role in this feedback loop. The current study investigated pre- to post-TBI (lateral fluid percussion injury model) changes in microbial communities and acoustic startle response in male and female rats. That is, the influence of mTBI on gut microbiome and sensorimotor processing was explored to examine: 1) overall and sex-specific differences in the gut microbiome and taxa in response to mTBI; 2) overall and sex-specific differences in sensorimotor processing following mTBI; and 3) associations between the gut microbiome and sensorimotor processing. Results showed mTBI had a limited effect on microbial diversity overall, and the same was observed in males and females independently. Yet, mTBI was associated with differences in 13 genus-level taxa. Further evaluation highlighted that 11 of the 13 genus-level taxa were sex-specific, with several being known to have short-chain fatty acid-producing capabilities. Alterations in sensorimotor processing were identified following mTBI; however, no sex-specific differences were evident. In addition, no associations were observed between sensorimotor processing and the gut microbiome. This study contributes longitudinal and sex-specific findings to the growing body of research examining the diverse effects of mTBI on the brain and gut microbial communities.

Indexed as

Brain ConcussionGastrointestinal MicrobiomeReflex, StartleAnimalsFemaleMaleRatsRats, Sprague-DawleySex CharacteristicsSex Factorsacoustic startle responsegut microbiomeinflammationmild traumatic brain injurypsychological disorderssex differences

Identifiers

PMID40899103
PMCPMC12504221

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.