Animal Models of Traumatically-Induced Dementia

Dementia in humans following traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been well documented in clinical populations, either after a single TBI or repeated mild TBI (rMTBI). In most cases, trauma-induced dementia follows a slow, chronic time-course, and in many cases mild injuries accumulate over time. Both single TBI and rMTBI have been modeled experimentally in vivo , most often in rodents, and various treatment strategies have been studied in order to reduce brain damage after injury. Here, we review the recent literature with regard to currently used in vivo models of TBI in animals, and studies conducted with them to investigate the link between TBI and the development of dementia-like pathology, such as that associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We also discuss the potential use of in vitro models of trauma for investigating a link between trauma and dementia.