www.elsevier.com/locate/brainres Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Research Report The neuro-behavioral profile in rats after subarachnoid hemorrhage $ Matthew Boyko a,1 , Abed N. Azab b,1 , Ruslan Kuts a , Benjamin Fredrick Gruenbaum a , Shaun Evan Gruenbaum c , Israel Melamed d , Evgeny Brotfain a , Yoram Shapira a , Evaldas Cesnulis e , Alexander Zlotnik a,n a Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Soroka Medical Center, Ben Gurion, University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel b School for Community Health Professions, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel c Department of Anesthesiology, Yale University School of Medicine, CT, USA d Department of Neurosurgery, Soroka Medical Center, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel e Center of Endoscopic and Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery, Clinic Hirslanden, Zurich, Switzerland article info Article history: Accepted 30 October 2012 Available online 2 November 2012 Keywords: Anxiety Behavior Depression Subarachnoid hemorrhage abstract Despite significant advancements in the understanding of the pathophysiological mechan- isms of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), little is known about the emotional conse- quences. The primary goal of this study was to describe the locomotor and behavioral patterns in rats following both a single-injection and double-injection model of SAH. In 48 rats, SAH was induced by injecting 0.3 ml of autologous arterial blood into the cisterna magnum (single-hemorrhagic model). In 24 of these rats, post-SAH vasospasm was induced by a repeated injection of blood into the cisterna magnum 24 h later (double- hemorrhagic model). In 24 additional rats, 0.3 ml of saline was injected into the cisterna magnum (sham group). Neurological performance was assessed at 24, 48 h, 1, 2 and 3 weeks after SAH. Four behavioral tests were performed for 3 weeks after SAH for the duration of 6 consequent days, in the following order: open field test, sucrose preference test, elevated plus maze test and forced swimming test. Following both, a single and double-hemorrhagic models of SAH, rats were found to have significant behavioral abnormalities on the open field test, sucrose preference test, elevated plus maze test, and forced swimming test. A more prominent disability was found in rats that underwent the double-hemorrhagic model of SAH than rats that underwent the single-hemorrhagic model. Both a single and double injection model of rats SAH are associated with significant behavioral disturbances including locomotor abnormalities, depressive behavior and increased anxiety, even as early as 3 weeks after SAH. & 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 0006-8993/$ - see front matter & 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2012.10.061 $ This work was supported by the grant awarded to Alexander Zlotnik MD, PhD from the European Society of Anesthesiologists in 2010. n Correspondence to: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Soroka Medical Center, POB 151, Beer Sheva, 84105, Israel. Fax: þ972 8 6403795. E-mail address: zlotnika@bgu.ac.il (A. Zlotnik). 1 Authors contributed equally. brainresearch 1491 (2013)109–116