Blast-induced traumatic brain injury (blast-TBI) is associated with vestibulomotor dysfunction, persistent post-traumatic headaches, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), requiring extensive treatments and reducing quality-of-life. Treatment and prevention of these devastating outcomes requires an understanding of their underlying pathophysiology through studies that take advantage of animal models. Here we report that cranium directed blast-TBI in rats results in signs of pain that last at least 8 weeks after injury. These occur without significantly elevated behavioural markers of anxiety-like conditions, and are not associated with glial up-regulation in sensory thalamic nuclei. These injuries also produce transient vestibulomotor abnormalities that resolve within three weeks of injury. Thus, blast-TBI in rats recapitulates aspects of the human condition.

Highlights The first awake -rat model of explosive blast-induced traumatic brain injury (blast-TBI). Rats with blast-TBI developed ongoing, spontaneous pain. Blast-TBI did not result in persistent changes in activity of thalamic or spinal neurons, or in gliosis in these structures.

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