Disentangling the Effects of Craniotomy and Traumatic Brain Injury in Experimental Models: A Narrative Review
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Genetics, Cytology, and Bioengineering, Voronezh State University, Voronezh 394018, Russia
- 2Brain Science Institute, Russian Center of Neurology and Neurosciences, Moscow 125367, Russia
- 3Kulakov National Medical Research Center of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, 4 Akademika Oparina Str., Moscow 117997, Russia
- 4Department of Functional Biochemistry of Biopolymers, A.N. Belozersky Research Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow 119992, Russia
Abstract
Many widely used open-head models of traumatic brain injury (TBI) require craniotomy before injury, while sham-operated animals undergo surgery without impact and serve as controls. However, sham surgery itself may alter physiological, molecular, and behavioral parameters, complicating interpretation of TBI-specific effects. This narrative review, based on a structured PubMed search, synthesizes studies employing a three-group design to distinguish injury-related changes from those associated with craniotomy and other perioperative procedures. Evidence indicates that sham surgery produces outcome-, region-, and time-dependent effects that are generally milder, more localized, and more transient than TBI. These include neuroinflammatory responses, localized neuronal alterations, temporary sensorimotor and cognitive deficits, nociceptive changes, and shifts in gut microbiota. In contrast, TBI causes more severe abnormalities, including extensive neuronal damage, sustained astrogliosis, microglial activation, neutrophilic infiltration, mitochondrial dysfunction, and long-term dysbiosis. Most electrophysiological parameters are relatively unaffected by sham surgery, although selected changes have been reported. Importantly, differences between naïve and sham animals cannot be attributed exclusively to craniotomy, as anesthesia, analgesia, and surgical technique may contribute. Thus, sham surgery should not be considered a biologically neutral control. Inclusion of both naïve and sham groups is particularly important when distinguishing surgery-associated from injury-specific effects in preclinical studies.
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BibTeX
@article{gribovskaya2026disentangling,
title = {{Disentangling the Effects of Craniotomy and Traumatic Brain Injury in Experimental Models: A Narrative Review}},
author = {Viktoria Gribovskaya and Dianna Adzhemian and Pavel Rogozin and Veronika Nesterova and Artem Gureev and Denis Silachev},
journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27209186},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/20/9186},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Disentangling the Effects of Craniotomy and Traumatic Brain Injury in Experimental Models: A Narrative Review
AU - Viktoria Gribovskaya
AU - Dianna Adzhemian
AU - Pavel Rogozin
AU - Veronika Nesterova
AU - Artem Gureev
AU - Denis Silachev
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27209186
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/20/9186
AB - Many widely used open-head models of traumatic brain injury (TBI) require craniotomy before injury, while sham-operated animals undergo surgery without impact and serve as controls. However, sham surgery itself may alter physiological, molecular, and behavioral parameters, complicating interpretation of TBI-specific effects. This narrative review, based on a structured PubMed search, synthesizes studies employing a three-group design to distinguish injury-related changes from those associated with craniotomy and other perioperative procedures. Evidence indicates that sham surgery produces outcome-, region-, and time-dependent effects that are generally milder, more localized, and more transient than TBI. These include neuroinflammatory responses, localized neuronal alterations, temporary sensorimotor and cognitive deficits, nociceptive changes, and shifts in gut microbiota. In contrast, TBI causes more severe abnormalities, including extensive neuronal damage, sustained astrogliosis, microglial activation, neutrophilic infiltration, mitochondrial dysfunction, and long-term dysbiosis. Most electrophysiological parameters are relatively unaffected by sham surgery, although selected changes have been reported. Importantly, differences between naïve and sham animals cannot be attributed exclusively to craniotomy, as anesthesia, analgesia, and surgical technique may contribute. Thus, sham surgery should not be considered a biologically neutral control. Inclusion of both naïve and sham groups is particularly important when distinguishing surgery-associated from injury-specific effects in preclinical studies.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -