Experimental head injury & concussion in monkey using pure linear acceleration impact.

Translational acceleration head injury experiment was performed on 12 Japanese monkeys and one baboon using a HYGE sled and a slider-impactor system. All the monkeys became concussed by force ranging 241 to 366G in slider average acceleration and two of them died of concussion (fatal or irreversible concussion). The fatal concussion animals as well as the delayed death ones showed almost unexceptionally rib and clavicle fractures and mediastinal hemorrhage. Subarachnoid hemorrhage seen in six animals were not correlated with the outcome. We were unable to produce visible brain lesions, such as brain contusion, subdural hematoma, or intracerebral hematoma, by using pure trans lational acceleration impacts to the head. It should be misleading to draw a human or primate head injury tolerance limit from the fatal concussion level. Interestingly seven monkeys showed spontaneous eyelid blinking and four showed pupillary light reaction immediately post-impact and at least six animals showed "nor mal" EEG activity ten seconds after the impact. The cause of concussion was discussed and the role of cardiorespiratory supression by the primary shock is suggested.

[1]  Robert B. Thompson,et al.  The Development of a Detailed Finite Element Brain Model , 1975 .

[2]  Kenneth M. Earle,et al.  Traumatic distortions of the primate head and chest: correlation of biomechanical, radiological and pathological data , 1974 .

[3]  J. Richardson,et al.  First Rib Fracture: A Hallmark of Severe Trauma , 1975, Annals of surgery.

[4]  G. W. Brown,et al.  CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSES TO EXPERIMENTAL CEREBRAL CONCUSSION IN THE RHESUS MONKEY: Discussion of Similarity of Responses to Electroconvulsive Shock and Cerebral Concussion in Dogs, Monkeys, and Man , 1954 .

[5]  A K OMMAYA,et al.  EXPERIMENTAL CONCUSSION; A FIRST REPORT. , 1964, Journal of neurosurgery.

[6]  Thomas A. Gennarelli,et al.  Pathophysiologic Responses to Rotational and Translational Accelerations of the Head , 1972 .

[7]  T Mäkelä,et al.  [Mechanics of head injuries]. , 1965, Suomen laakarilehti. Finlands lakartidning.

[8]  A. G. Gross,et al.  A new theory on the dynamics of brain concussion and brain injury. , 1958, Journal of neurosurgery.

[9]  J. Versace A Review of the Severity Index , 1971 .

[10]  ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC CHANGES IN ACUTE CEREBRAL ANOXIA FROM CARDIAC OR RESPIRATORY ARREST. , 1966, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[11]  K. Sano,et al.  Engineering aspects of human skull fracture. Experimental study & theoretical consideration on brain damage. , 1971, Neurologia medico-chirurgica.

[12]  A. Ommaya,et al.  Coup and contre-coup injury: observations on the mechanics of visible brain injuries in the rhesus monkey. , 1971, Journal of neurosurgery.

[13]  N Nakamura,et al.  Mechanism and dynamics of closed head injuries (preliminary report). , 1967, Neurologia medico-chirurgica.

[14]  J. Mcelhaney,et al.  Development of a Mechanical Model of the Human Head - Determination of Tissue Properties and Synthetic Substitute Materials , 1970 .

[15]  Prevention and mitigation of injuries. , 1972, Clinical neurosurgery.

[16]  C. W. Gadd Use of a weighted-impulse criterion for estimating injury hazard , 1966 .

[17]  H. R. Lissner,et al.  Observations on the mechanism of brain concussion, contusion, and laceration. , 1955, Surgery, gynecology & obstetrics.

[18]  J. E. Webster,et al.  ALTERATIONS IN CELL STRUCTURE FOLLOWING SUDDEN INCREASES IN INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE , 1957, Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology.

[19]  K. Hossmann,et al.  Reversibility of ischemic brain damage. , 1973, Archives of neurology.

[20]  A. Ommaya,et al.  Cerebral concussion and traumatic unconsciousness. Correlation of experimental and clinical observations of blunt head injuries. , 1974, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[21]  A. Ward The physiology of concussion. , 1964, Clinical neurosurgery.

[22]  A. Ward,et al.  Physiological basis of concussion. , 1958, Journal of neurosurgery.

[23]  R. Lindenberg Morphotropic and morphostatic necrobiosis; investigations on nerve cells of the brain. , 1956, The American journal of pathology.

[24]  W. Hunt,et al.  ASTROCYTIC PROCESSES: A ROUTE BETWEEN VESSELS AND NEURONS FOLLOWING BLOOD‐BRAIN BARRIER INJURY , 1975, Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology.

[25]  D. Denny-Brown,et al.  Studies of cerebral circulation in brain injury. II. Cerebral concussion. , 1955, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[26]  J. Meyer,et al.  Studies of cerebral circulation in brain injury. IV. Ischemia and hypoxemia of the brain stem and respiratory center. , 1957, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[27]  D Denny-Brown,et al.  Experimental cerebral concussion. , 1941, The Journal of physiology.

[28]  T. Tsubokawa,et al.  Experimental primary fatal head injury caused by linear acceleration--biomechanics and pathogenesis. , 1975, Neurologia medico-chirurgica.

[29]  L. M. Patrick,et al.  Survival by design: Head protection , 1963 .