Recent evidence suggests that muscarinic receptors play a role in the hippocampal hypersensitivity to imposed ischemia following mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). In rat hippocampal tissue, carbachol-stimulated inositol phosphate production was found to be enhanced by mild TBI, at 1 h post injury. This finding suggests that mild TBI may result in enhanced coupling between muscarinic receptors and phosphoinositide hydrolysis, which may contribute to post-traumatic hippocampal vulnerability to secondary ischemia.