Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41344898›Full record

ArticleeNeuro2026

Development of a Modified Weight-Drop Apparatus for Closed-Skull, Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries in a Mouse Model.

Anthony B Crum, Cara D Nielson, Kaylin J Sevilla Lopez, Julian P Meeks

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in eNeuro, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Anthony B CrumNeuroscience Graduate Program, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14642.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4832-2530
Cara D NielsonGraduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98101.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6238-7824
Kaylin J Sevilla LopezNEUROCITY Program, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14642.
Julian P MeeksDepartment of Neuroscience and Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14642 julian_meeks@urmc.rochester.edu.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7537-4491

Funding

Inhibitory processing and social learning in the mouse accessory olfactory bulbR01DC015784 · NIDCD · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI MEEKS, JULIAN P · 2017 to 2021
$1.8M
Inhibitory plasticity and social learning in the accessory olfactory bulbR01DC021213 · NIDCD · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · PI Julian P Meeks · 2024 to 2026
$1.6M
NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC015784NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC021213
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (rmTBI) is a major contributor to long-term neurological dysfunction, yet many preclinical models lack precise control and quantification of biomechanical forces across impacts. We developed a reproducible, closed-skull mouse model of rmTBI using a custom-built weight-drop apparatus featuring a solenoid-based rebound arrest system, integrated high-speed videography, and accelerometry to track head kinematics during impact. Adult male and female mice received either a single impact or nine daily impacts. Linear and angular acceleration data were analyzed alongside behavioral and histological outcomes. Our apparatus delivered consistent impact and velocity forces with minimal intersubject variability. Additionally, the animals experienced consistent linear and angular acceleration as measured using high-speed video capture. These impacts did not cause skull fracture or acute vascular hemorrhage, but impacted animals had increased return of righting reflex time, consistent with mild, concussion-like symptoms. Behavioral testing revealed reduced performance of rmTBI-affected mice in an olfaction-mediated foraging task (buried food task), particularly at later timepoints, consistent with progressive olfactory impairment. Immunohistochemical analysis of Iba1 and CD68 in the brain demonstrated sex-dependent microglial activation, with males showing higher expression levels in both single- and nine-impact models. Among the brain regions investigated, microglial activation was most pronounced in the corpus callosum, neocortex, and olfactory tubercle. These findings underscore the importance of including sex as a biological variable in rmTBI research and support the utility of this model for probing injury thresholds, regional vulnerability, and potential therapeutic interventions in repetitive head trauma.

Indexed as

Brain ConcussionDisease Models, AnimalAnimalsBehavior, AnimalBiomechanical PhenomenaBrainFemaleMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLconcussionkinematicsneuroinflammationolfactionpreclinicaltraumatic brain injury

Identifiers

PMID41344898
PMCPMC12782809

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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.