Potential sex differences in reward and immune responses following a TBI

This content was originally authored by Galen Moller for the 11/21/19 edition of our Weekly Concussion Update newsletter.

Past studies have shown that after a TBI, male mice were more sensitive to the rewarding effects of cocaine, and had a persistent neuroinflammatory response in the reward pathway of their brains. Behavioral Brain Research recently published a study that expands upon this research by asking if inflammation at reward centers and susceptibility to substance abuse disorders after adolescent TBI are sex-dependent qualities.

Researchers Lee Anne Cannella et al. tested male and female adolescent mice, with different severities of TBI, for sensitivity to the rewarding effects of cocaine. The male mice showed increased sensitivity after TBI, but the females with high levels of female sex hormones at the time of their TBI showed neuroprotection against cocaine sensitivity. The female mice also showed a less inflammatory response after the TBI. Their study adds to a growing body of evidence that male and female brains can have different neuropathological outcomes after TBI.