Conference: ICVM Symposium: Traumatic Brain Injury, not just for humans

University Of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa AL

Investigators

Abstract

More and more, brain injury is studied in unconventional model animals because of their unique evolutionary adaptations to protect their brain when performing extreme behaviors. This proposal supports a symposium presented at the International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology (ICVM), aiming to unite a majority of underrepresented, early-career scientists in presenting their newest findings related to brain damage in non-model animal species for the first time. The proposed presentations showcase state-of-the-art brain injury research on charismatic species native to the US, including whales, woodpeckers, bighorn sheep, and mangrove fish. The main goal of this symposium is to increase our understanding of brain injury occurrence in nature, alongside related chronic conditions that are found in both human and non-human animals but remain severely understudied in the basic sciences. Certain animal species possess unique evolutionary adaptations for brain protection. This symposium supported by this proposal presents approaches that include studying the impact of underwater sound on cetacean brains, the biomechanics of woodpecker drumming, the neurodegenerative effects of headbutting in bighorn sheep, and the effects of self-inflicted brain injury in mangrove rivulus fish. Furthering our understanding of naturalistic head impacts will identify adaptations in animals evolved to mitigate a host of neurobiological conditions. These conditions include neurodegeneration and associated behavioral change, which routinely arise from sustaining persistent blows to the head. The current emerging status of the field surrounding non-model animal brain trauma lends it to highly interdisciplinary projects combining biomechanics, vertebrate anatomy, and neuroscience, among others. This angle of approach is unique, as most research is currently focused on the medical applications of modeling traumatic brain injury in model species, without considering the evolutionary implications of neurodegeneration found in wild animals performing natural behaviors. Providing a venue for the convergence of these ideas is a unique opportunity to advance the many fields surrounding brain injury in a generation of enthusiastic, early-career researchers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.