Time course for recovery of water maze performance and central cholinergic innervation after fluid percussion injury

This study further investigates the possible connection between postconcussive cognitive impairment and damage to forebrain cholinergic innervation. Moderate parasagittal fluid percussion injury was delivered to adult male rats. Water maze performance and synaptosomal choline uptake was measured at various times following injury. Water maze learning was severely impaired between 1 and 5 weeks, but recovered to normal by 10 weeks. Synaptosomal choline uptake was significantly decreased by 15-27% in the ipsilateral hippocampus and parietal cortex 3 and 7 days following injury, but not by 3 weeks or thereafter. Choline acetyltransferase was also significantly decreased in the ipsilateral cortex at 3 and 7 days with subsequent recovery. This study shows that parasagittal fluid percussion injury causes significant impairment in water maze learning and ipsilateral forebrain cholinergic innervation. Both of these parameters recover spontaneously, but with different time courses.