Administration of AOM led to neuroinflammation as evidenced by a significant increase of brain IL-6 levels (1.8-fold; p<0.001) compared to saline-treated controls, and treatment with etanercept significantly attenuated brain IL-6 levels induced by AOM (1.2-fold; p<0.05) (Fig. 4A). Here, IL6 is linked to infectious otitis media.