Effect of hyperbaric oxygen on changes in behavior after brain damage in rats

Objective To investigate effect of hyperbaric oxygen on changes in behavior after brain damage in rats and to find out laboratory evidence for clinical application of HBO in the treatment of brain damage. Methods Twenty-one male Wister rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: the HBO group, the control group and the brain damage group, each consisting of 7 animals. The lateral hydraulic impact instrument was used to develop the rat model of impact brain damage. The HBO group was given HBO treatment 24 hours after injury, for a succession of 10 days. Six days after impact damage, each group was measured respectively with Morris water maze to compare ethological abilities of learning and memory between the groups. Results The positioning navigation test (PNT) obtained the following results: for the first 5 days, the control group was shorter in evasion latency than the HBO group, and the HBO group was shorter than the brain damage group(P the HBO group > the brain damage group for the number of passing across the platform (P < 0. 05). Conclusions HBO therapy could enhance the abilities of brain damaged rats in learning and memory. Key words: Brain damage;  Hyperbaric oxygen;  Morris water maze;  Behavior