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Assessing Depression and Cognitive Impairment Following Stroke and Neurotrauma: Behavioral Methods for Quantifying Impairment and Functional Recovery

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Neural Repair

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2616))

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Abstract

Rodent models of stroke and neural injury are reliable and useful tools for testing new interventions and therapeutics. In addition to physical (motor) impairment, cognitive deficits and depressive behaviors are often observed due to neurotrauma. Proper experimental design of pre- and post-assessments of these behaviors that reduce or minimize the confounding effects of motor impairment are essential for determining markers of progression of impairment or recovery. This chapter provides step-by-step laboratory protocols for assessing cognition using the Barnes maze and the novel object recognition test (NORT) and depressive-like behaviors using the sucrose preference test, the three-chambered sociability approach test, and the burrowing test.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) behavior core for aging and injury studies at Texas A & M Health and Science Center College of Medicine. Support for the work was provided from the Alzheimer’s Association AARFD-16-440750 to KS, Mission Connect, a project of the TIRR foundation, and the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation to MH, and NIH AG042189 and the Janell and Joe Marek ‘57 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Fund to FS. KS, Director of the Behavioral Core, is partially supported by this Fund. KS is also known as Karienn Montgomery.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Women’s Health in Neuroscience Program, Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Texas A & M University College of Medicine, Bryan, TX, USA

    Karienn A. de Souza, Michelle Hook & Farida Sohrabji

Authors
  1. Karienn A. de Souza
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  2. Michelle Hook
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  3. Farida Sohrabji
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Farida Sohrabji .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo, TX, USA

    Vardan T. Karamyan

  2. Department of Neurology, Department of Neuroscience, The University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

    Ann M. Stowe

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© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

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de Souza, K.A., Hook, M., Sohrabji, F. (2023). Assessing Depression and Cognitive Impairment Following Stroke and Neurotrauma: Behavioral Methods for Quantifying Impairment and Functional Recovery. In: Karamyan, V.T., Stowe, A.M. (eds) Neural Repair. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2616. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2926-0_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2926-0_20

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-2925-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-2926-0

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