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Sleep Disruption Exacerbates and Prolongs the Inflammatory Response to Traumatic Brain Injury
Tapp ZM, Kumar JE, Witcher KG, Atluri RR, Velasquez JA, O'Neil SM, Dziabis JE, Bray CE et al.. Journal of neurotrauma, 2020-04-21
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) alters stress responses, which may influence neuroinflammation and behavioral outcome. Sleep disruption (SD) is an understudied post-injury environmental stressor that directly engages stress-immune pathways. Thus, we predicted that maladaptive changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis after TBI compromise the neuroendocrine response to SD and exacerbate neuroinflammation.
Key findings
- Sleep disruption (SD) is an understudied post-injury environmental stressor that directly engages stress-immune pathways.
- Thus, we predicted that maladaptive changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis after TBI compromise the neuroendocrine response to SD and exacerbate neuroinflammation.
- To test this, we induced lateral fluid percussion TBI or sham injury in female and male C57BL/6 mice aged 8-10 weeks that were then left undisturbed or exposed to 3 days of transient SD.
- At 3 days post-injury (DPI) plasma corticosterone (CORT) was reduced in TBI compared with sham mice, indicating altered HPA-mediated stress response to SD.
Why it matters
In mice given traumatic brain injury, three days of sleep disruption exacerbated and prolonged the inflammatory response. This is an animal study, so it does not establish whether sleep disruption after brain injury affects Alzheimer's disease in humans.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 37/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of neurotrauma) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of Neurotrauma: journal h-index 217 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 53 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 6.6 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 2.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 29 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Olga N. Kokiko‐Cochran: h-index 26 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | The Ohio State University: institution h-index 1,378 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 32164485) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 37 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1089/neu.2020.7010
- PubMed: 32164485
- Original source →
- Free full text: Journal of Neurotrauma →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Tapp, Z. M., Kumar, J. E., Witcher, K. G., Atluri, R. R., Velasquez, J. A., O'Neil, S. M., et al. (2020). Sleep Disruption Exacerbates and Prolongs the Inflammatory Response to Traumatic Brain Injury. Journal of neurotrauma. https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2020.7010
Vancouver
Tapp ZM, Kumar JE, Witcher KG, Atluri RR, Velasquez JA, O'Neil SM, et al. Sleep Disruption Exacerbates and Prolongs the Inflammatory Response to Traumatic Brain Injury. Journal of neurotrauma. 2020. doi:10.1089/neu.2020.7010. PMID: 32164485.
BibTeX
@article{tapp2020-32164485,
author = {Tapp, Z. M. and Kumar, J. E. and Witcher, K. G. and Atluri, R. R. and Velasquez, J. A. and O'Neil, S. M. and Dziabis, J. E. and Bray, C. E. and others},
title = {{Sleep Disruption Exacerbates and Prolongs the Inflammatory Response to Traumatic Brain Injury}},
journal = {Journal of neurotrauma},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1089/neu.2020.7010},
pmid = {32164485},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2020.7010}
}
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