Found in translation: Understanding the biology and behavior of experimental traumatic brain injury

•In vivo TBI models provide essential understanding of mechanisms and recovery.•Multiple deficits in social behavior can be detected after TBI in young rodents.•The AST is a sensitive measure of executive function after experimental TBI.•Environmental enrichment is a preclinical model of neurorehabilitation.•No single test exists to diagnose concussion accurately.

The aim of this review is to discuss in greater detail the topics covered in the recent symposium entitled “Traumatic brain injury: laboratory and clinical perspectives,” presented at the 2014 International Behavioral Neuroscience Society annual meeting. Herein, we review contemporary laboratory models of traumatic brain injury (TBI) including common assays for sensorimotor and cognitive behavior. New modalities to evaluate social behavior after injury to the developing brain, as well as the attentional set-shifting test (AST) as a measure of executive function in TBI, will be highlighted. Environmental enrichment (EE) will be discussed as a preclinical model of neurorehabilitation, and finally, an evidence-based approach to sports-related concussion will be considered. The review consists predominantly of published data, but some discussion of ongoing or future directions is provided.