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Updated: Sep 26, 2026
Detecting Behavioral Deficits in Rats After Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: January 30, 2018
An assessment of gait and balance deficits after traumatic brain injury
Jeffrey R Basford1, Li-Shan Chou, Kenton R Kaufman
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Objective:
To assess the sensations of instability that many patients report after traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Design:
A controlled study.
Setting:
A motion analysis and vestibular and balance laboratory.
Participants:
Twenty subjects, 10 with TBI and complaints of instability, and 10 without TBI.
Interventions:
Balance and gait analysis.
Main Outcome Measures:
Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), caloric irrigation, optokinetic testing, Dix-Hallpike Test, posturography, and center of mass (COM) movement.
Results:
Subjects were well matched in terms of age, height, weight, and gender. DHI scores of those with and without TBI differed significantly (32.2+/-23.0 vs 0.2+/-0.63, P<.001). Caloric and optokinetic circularvection testing were abnormal only in subjects with TBI (8/10 and 4/10, respectively). Benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo was present in only 3 subjects with TBI, and this either resolved spontaneously (n=1) or was successfully treated (n=2). Composite posturography scores of those with and without TBI differed significantly (69.6+/-35.8 vs 79.5+/-40.5, P=.02). Gait parameters also differed significantly between the groups (P=.05), with the subjects with TBI having lower anterior and posterior and higher medial and lateral COM displacements and velocities.
Conclusions:
Patients' complaints of instability after TBI may have objective correlates and may be rectifiable. Balance and gait testing in these patients is warranted.
