Fig. 1.

Larval zebrafish model of TBI and the modifiable aspects investigated herein. The larval zebrafish TBI model provides an elegantly simple system to create a blast pressure wave and induce TBI. A weight is dropped onto the plunger of a syringe housing dozens of zebrafish larvae in media. The plunger depresses when struck by the falling weight, and this transduces a pressure wave through the liquid media and thus through the zebrafish larvae. In the present study, we modified the following aspects of the larval zebrafish TBI model to increase the blast pressure wave created and allow the user to administer a variety of injury doses: (A) the mass of the weight that was dropped; (B) the height from which the weight was dropped; (C) the size (volume) of the syringe that housed the group of zebrafish larvae. (D) The rigidity of the syringe mount, where a syringe clamp holder had arm movement which dissipates pressure upon impact versus a foam block syringe holder which halted syringe movement upon weight impact. Parameter changes are colour coded throughout the manuscript to match the numbered colours of this figure.