In this study, changes in the viscoelastic material properties of brain tissue due to traumatic diffuse axonal injury (DAI) were investigated. The impact acceleration model was used to generate DAI in rat brain stem. The viscoelastic material properties of brain tissue along the corticospinal (CSpT) tract in the brain stem were characterized using an indentation technique and a quasilinear theory. The results show significant reduction in the elastic response of brain tissue due to injury. In regions with significantly more DAI, larger changes in the elastic shear modulus and relaxation function were observed. These findings can improve the injury predictability of computational models of brain injury.

Volume Subject Area:
Tissue Biomechanics
Topics:
Biological tissues, Brain, Viscoelasticity, Wounds, Viscoelastic materials, Relaxation (Physics), Shear modulus, Traumatic brain injury
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