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Cosgrove ME, Saadon JR, Mikell CB, Stefancin PL, Alkadaa L, Wang Z, Saluja S, Servider J, Razzaq B, Huang C, Mofakham S. Thalamo-Prefrontal Connectivity Correlates With Early Command-Following After Severe Traumatic Brain Injury. Front Neurol 2022; 13:826266. [PMID: 35250829 PMCID: PMC8895046 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2022.826266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Recovery of consciousness after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is heterogeneous and difficult to predict. Structures such as the thalamus and prefrontal cortex are thought to be important in facilitating consciousness. We sought to investigate whether the integrity of thalamo-prefrontal circuits, assessed via diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), was associated with the return of goal-directed behavior after severe TBI. We classified a cohort of severe TBI patients (N = 25, 20 males) into Early and Late/Never outcome groups based on their ability to follow commands within 30 days post-injury. We assessed connectivity between whole thalamus, and mediodorsal thalamus (MD), to prefrontal cortex (PFC) subregions including dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC), medial PFC (mPFC), anterior cingulate (ACC), and orbitofrontal (OFC) cortices. We found that the integrity of thalamic projections to PFC subregions (L OFC, L and R ACC, and R mPFC) was significantly associated with Early command-following. This association persisted when the analysis was restricted to prefrontal-mediodorsal (MD) thalamus connectivity. In contrast, dlPFC connectivity to thalamus was not significantly associated with command-following. Using the integrity of thalamo-prefrontal connections, we created a linear regression model that demonstrated 72% accuracy in predicting command-following after a leave-one-out analysis. Together, these data support a role for thalamo-prefrontal connectivity in the return of goal-directed behavior following TBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan E. Cosgrove
- Department of Neurosurgery, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Jordan R. Saadon
- Department of Neurosurgery, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Charles B. Mikell
- Department of Neurosurgery, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | | | - Leor Alkadaa
- Department of Neurosurgery, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Zhe Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Sabir Saluja
- Department of Neurosurgery, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - John Servider
- Department of Neurosurgery, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Bayan Razzaq
- Department of Neurosurgery, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Chuan Huang
- Department of Radiology, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Sima Mofakham
- Department of Neurosurgery, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
- *Correspondence: Sima Mofakham
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Yin B, Li DD, Huang H, Gu CH, Bai GH, Hu LX, Zhuang JF, Zhang M. Longitudinal Changes in Diffusion Tensor Imaging Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Correlation With Outcome. Front Neural Circuits 2019; 13:28. [PMID: 31133818 PMCID: PMC6514143 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2019.00028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The chronic consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI) may contribute to the increased risk for early cognitive decline and dementia, primarily due to diffusion axonal injury. Previous studies in mild TBI (mTBI) have been controversial in describing the white matter tract integrity changes occurring at acute and subacute post-injury. In this prospective longitudinal study, we aim to investigate the longitudinal changes of white matter (WM) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and their correlations with neuropsychological tests. Thirty-three patients with subacute mTBI and 31 matched healthy controls were studied with an extensive imaging and clinical battery. Neuroimaging was obtained within 7 days post-injury for acute scans and repeated at 1 and 3 months post-injury. Using a region-of-interest-based approach, tract-based spatial statistics was used to conduct voxel-wise analysis on diffusion changes in mTBI and was compared to those of healthy matched controls, scanned during the same time period and rescanned with an interval similar to that of patients. We found decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the left anterior limb of internal capsule (ALIC) and right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF) during the 7 days post-injury, which showed longitudinal evidence of recovery following 1 month post-injury. Increased FA values in these two tracts at 1 month post-injury were positively associated with better performance on cognitive information processing speed at initial assessment. By contrast, there were also some tracts (right anterior corona radiata, forceps major, and body of corpus callosum) exhibiting the continuing loss of integrity sustaining even beyond 3 months, which can predict the persisting post-concussion syndromes. Continuing loss of structural integrity in some tracts may contribute to the persistent post-concussion syndromes in mTBI patients, suggesting certain tracts providing an objective biomarker for tracking the pathological recovery process following mTBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Yin
- Department of Medical Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.,Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Dan-Dong Li
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Huan Huang
- Department of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Cheng-Hui Gu
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Guang-Hui Bai
- Department of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Liu-Xun Hu
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Jin-Fei Zhuang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Ming Zhang
- Department of Medical Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
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Regan PM, Bleiberg J, Onge PS, Temme L. Feasibility of using normobaric hypoxic stress in mTBI research. Concussion 2017; 2:CNC44. [PMID: 30202585 PMCID: PMC6094798 DOI: 10.2217/cnc-2017-0008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2017] [Accepted: 03/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) recovery generally assess patients in unstressed conditions that permit compensation for impairments through increased effort expenditure. This possibility may explain why a subgroup of individuals report persistent mTBI symptoms yet perform normally on objective assessment. Accordingly, the development and utilization of stress paradigms may be effective for enhancing the sensitivity of mTBI assessment. Previous studies, discussed here, indirectly but plausibly support the use of normobaric hypoxia as a stressor in uncovering latent mTBI symptoms due to the overlapping symptomatology induced by both normobaric hypoxia and mTBI. Limited studies by our group and others further support this plausibility through proof-of-concept demonstrations that hypoxia reversibly induces disproportionately severe impairments of oculomotor, pupillometric, cognitive and autonomic function in mTBI individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick M Regan
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE), Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Laulima Government Solutions LLC, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE), Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Laulima Government Solutions LLC, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
| | - Joseph Bleiberg
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE), Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE), Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Paul St Onge
- U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Fort Rucker, AL 36362, USA
- Laulima Government Solutions LLC, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
- U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Fort Rucker, AL 36362, USA
- Laulima Government Solutions LLC, Orlando, FL 32826, USA
| | - Leonard Temme
- U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Fort Rucker, AL 36362, USA
- U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Fort Rucker, AL 36362, USA
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Veeramuthu V, Narayanan V, Kuo TL, Delano-Wood L, Chinna K, Bondi MW, Waran V, Ganesan D, Ramli N. Diffusion Tensor Imaging Parameters in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Its Correlation with Early Neuropsychological Impairment: A Longitudinal Study. J Neurotrauma 2015; 32:1497-509. [PMID: 25952562 PMCID: PMC4589266 DOI: 10.1089/neu.2014.3750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
We explored the prognostic value of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters of selected white matter (WM) tracts in predicting neuropsychological outcome, both at baseline and 6 months later, among well-characterized patients diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Sixty-one patients with mTBI (mean age=27.08; standard deviation [SD], 8.55) underwent scanning at an average of 10 h (SD, 4.26) post-trauma along with assessment of their neuropsychological performance at an average of 4.35 h (SD, 7.08) upon full Glasgow Coma Scale recovery. Results were then compared to 19 healthy control participants (mean age=29.05; SD, 5.84), both in the acute stage and 6 months post-trauma. DTI and neuropsychological measures between acute and chronic phases were compared, and significant differences emerged. Specifically, chronic-phase fractional anisotropy and radial diffusivity values showed significant group differences in the corona radiata, anterior limb of internal capsule, cingulum, superior longitudinal fasciculus, optic radiation, and genu of corpus callosum. Findings also demonstrated associations between DTI indices and neuropsychological outcome across two time points. Our results provide new evidence for the use of DTI as an imaging biomarker and indicator of WM damage occurring in the context of mTBI, and they underscore the dynamic nature of brain injury and possible biological basis of chronic neurocognitive alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vigneswaran Veeramuthu
- 1 Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Vairavan Narayanan
- 1 Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Tan Li Kuo
- 2 University Malaya Research Imaging Center, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Lisa Delano-Wood
- 3 VA San Diego Healthcare System , San Diego, California.,4 Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego , San Diego, California
| | - Karuthan Chinna
- 5 Julius Center University Malaya, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Mark William Bondi
- 3 VA San Diego Healthcare System , San Diego, California.,4 Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego , San Diego, California
| | - Vicknes Waran
- 1 Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Dharmendra Ganesan
- 1 Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Norlisah Ramli
- 2 University Malaya Research Imaging Center, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Fox WC, Park MS, Belverud S, Klugh A, Rivet D, Tomlin JM. Contemporary imaging of mild TBI: the journey toward diffusion tensor imaging to assess neuronal damage. Neurol Res 2013; 35:223-32. [PMID: 23485049 DOI: 10.1179/1743132813y.0000000162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To follow the progression of neuroimaging as a means of non-invasive evaluation of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in order to provide recommendations based on reproducible, defined imaging findings. METHODS A comprehensive literature review and analysis of contemporary published articles was performed to study the progression of neuroimaging findings as a non-invasive 'biomarker' for mTBI. RESULTS Multiple imaging modalities exist to support the evaluation of patients with mTBI, including ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These techniques continue to evolve with the development of fractional anisotropy (FA), fiber tractography (FT), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). DISCUSSION Modern imaging techniques, when applied in the appropriate clinical setting, may serve as a valuable tool for diagnosis and management of patients with mTBI. An understanding of modern neuroanatomical imaging will enhance our ability to analyse injury and recognize the manifestations of mTBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Christopher Fox
- Department of Neurosurgery, Naval Medical Center San Diego, 34800 Bob Wilson Drive, San Diego, CA 92134, USA.
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Bush SS, Myers TE. Neuropsychological Services Following Motor Vehicle Collisions. PSYCHOLOGICAL INJURY & LAW 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s12207-013-9142-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Kirov II, Tal A, Babb JS, Lui YW, Grossman RI, Gonen O. Diffuse axonal injury in mild traumatic brain injury: a 3D multivoxel proton MR spectroscopy study. J Neurol 2013; 260:242-52. [PMID: 22886061 PMCID: PMC3729330 DOI: 10.1007/s00415-012-6626-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2012] [Revised: 06/12/2012] [Accepted: 07/14/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Since mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) often leads to neurological symptoms even without clinical MRI findings, our goal was to test whether diffuse axonal injury is quantifiable with multivoxel proton MR spectroscopic imaging ((1)H-MRSI). T1- and T2-weighted MRI images and three-dimensional (1)H-MRSI (480 voxels over 360 cm(3), about 30 % of the brain) were acquired at 3 T from 26 mTBI patients (mean Glasgow Coma Scale score 14.7, 18-56 years old, 3-55 days after injury) and 13 healthy matched contemporaries as controls. The N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline (Cho), creatine (Cr) and myo-inositol (mI) concentrations and gray-matter/white-matter (GM/WM) and cerebrospinal fluid fractions were obtained in each voxel. Global GM and WM absolute metabolic concentrations were estimated using linear regression, and patients were compared with controls using two-way analysis of variance. In patients, mean NAA, Cr, Cho and mI concentrations in GM (8.4 ± 0.7, 6.9 ± 0.6, 1.3 ± 0.2, 5.5 ± 0.6 mM) and Cr, Cho and mI in WM (4.8 ± 0.5, 1.4 ± 0.2, 4.6 ± 0.7 mM) were not different from the values in controls. The NAA concentrations in WM, however, were significantly lower in patients than in controls (7.2 ± 0.8 vs. 7.7 ± 0.6 mM, p = 0.0125). The Cho and Cr levels in WM of patients were positively correlated with time since mTBI. This (1)H-MRSI approach allowed us to ascertain that early mTBI sequelae are (1) diffuse (not merely local), (2) neuronal (not glial), and (3) in the global WM (not GM). These findings support the hypothesis that, similar to more severe head trauma, mTBI also results in diffuse axonal injury, but that dysfunction rather than cell death dominates shortly after injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan I Kirov
- Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, 660 First Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10016, USA
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Structural integrity and postconcussion syndrome in mild traumatic brain injury patients. Brain Imaging Behav 2012; 6:283-92. [PMID: 22477019 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-012-9159-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
The presence of a postconcussion syndrome (PCS) induces substantial socio-professional troubles in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) patients. Although the exact origin of these disorders is not known, they may be the consequence of diffuse axonal injury (DAI) impacting structural integrity. In the present study, we compared structural integrity at the subacute and late stages after mTBI and in case of PCS, using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Fifty-three mTBI patients were investigated and compared with 40 healthy controls. All patients underwent a DWI examination at the subacute (8-21 days) and late (6 months) phases after injury. MTBI patients with PCS were detected at the subacute phase using the ICD-10 classification. Groupwise differences in structural integrity were investigated using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS). A loss of structural integrity was found in mTBI patients at the subacute phase but partially resolved over time. Moreover, we observed that mTBI patients with PCS had greater and wider structural impairment than patients without PCS. These damages persisted over time for PCS patients, while mTBI patients without PCS partly recovered. In conclusion, our results strengthen the relationship between structural integrity and PCS.
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Ling JM, Peña A, Yeo RA, Merideth FL, Klimaj S, Gasparovic C, Mayer AR. Biomarkers of increased diffusion anisotropy in semi-acute mild traumatic brain injury: a longitudinal perspective. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 135:1281-92. [PMID: 22505633 DOI: 10.1093/brain/aws073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 147] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Mild traumatic brain injury is the most prevalent neurological insult and frequently results in neurobehavioural sequelae. However, little is known about the pathophysiology underlying the injury and how these injuries change as a function of time. Although diffusion tensor imaging holds promise for in vivo characterization of white matter pathology, both the direction and magnitude of anisotropic water diffusion abnormalities in axonal tracts are actively debated. The current study therefore represents both an independent replication effort (n = 28) of our previous findings (n = 22) of increased fractional anisotropy during semi-acute injury, as well as a prospective study (n = 26) on the putative recovery of diffusion abnormalities. Moreover, new analytical strategies were applied to capture spatially heterogeneous white matter injuries, which minimize implicit assumptions of uniform injury across diverse clinical presentations. Results indicate that whereas a general pattern of high anisotropic diffusion/low radial diffusivity was present in various white matter tracts in both the replication and original cohorts, this pattern was only consistently observed in the genu of the corpus callosum across both samples. Evidence for a greater number of localized clusters with increased anisotropic diffusion was identified across both cohorts at trend levels, confirming heterogeneity in white matter injury. Pooled analyses (50 patients; 50 controls) suggested that measures of diffusion within the genu were predictive of patient classification, albeit at very modest levels (71% accuracy). Finally, we observed evidence of recovery in lesion load in returning patients across a 4-month interval, which was correlated with a reduction in self-reported post-concussive symptomatology. In summary, the corpus callosum may serve as a common point of injury in mild traumatic brain injury secondary to anatomical (high frequency of long unmyelinated fibres) and biomechanics factors. A spatially heterogeneous pattern of increased anisotropic diffusion exists in various other white matter tracts, and these white matter anomalies appear to diminish with recovery. This macroscopic pattern of diffusion abnormalities may be associated with cytotoxic oedema following mechanical forces, resulting in changes in ionic homeostasis, and alterations in the ratio of intracellular and extracellular water. Animal models more specific to the types of mild traumatic brain injury typically incurred by humans are needed to confirm the histological correlates of these macroscopic markers of white matter pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josef M Ling
- The Mind Research Network, Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA
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Traumatic Brain Injury Across the Lifespan: A Neuropsychological Tutorial for Attorneys. PSYCHOLOGICAL INJURY & LAW 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s12207-010-9065-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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