Diurnal variation of NMDA receptor expression in the rat cerebral cortex is associated with traumatic brain injury damage

OBJECTIVE: Data from our laboratory suggest that recovery from a traumatic brain injury depends on the time of day at which it occurred. In this study, we examined whether traumatic brain injury -induced damage is related to circadian variation in N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor expression in rat cortex. RESULTS: We confirmed that traumatic brain injury recovery depended on the time of day at which the damage occurred. We also found that motor cortex N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor subunit NR1 expression exhibited diurnal variation in both control and traumatic brain injury-subjected rats. However, this rhythm is more pronounced in traumatic brain injury—subjected rats, with minimum expression in those injured during nighttime hours. These findings suggest that traumatic brain injury occurrence times should be considered in future clinical studies and when designing neuroprotective strategies for patients.