Diffuse Traumatic Axonal Injury within the Visual System: Implications for Visual Pathway Reorganization

DIFFUSE TRAUMATIC AXONAL INJURY WITHIN THE VISUAL SYSTEM: IMPLICATIONS FOR VISUAL PATHWAY REORGANIZATION By Jiaqiong Wang, Ph.D. Candidate A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2012 Major Director: John T. Povlishock, Ph.D. Professor and Chairman Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology Traumatic brain injury is a major health problem with much of its morbidity associated with traumatic axonal injury (TAI). To date, significant insight has been gained into the initiating pathogenesis of TAI. However, the specific anterograde and retrograde sequelae of TAI are poorly understood because the diffuse nature of TAI complicates data analysis. To overcome this limitation, we subjected transgenic mice expressing yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) within the visual system to central fluid percussion injury, and consistently generated diffuse TAI within the optic nerve that could easily be followed in the organized YFP positive fibers. We