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Diffuse disconnectivity in traumatic brain injury: a resting state fMRI and DTI study

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Translational Neuroscience

Abstract

Diffuse axonal injury is a common pathological consequence of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Diffusion Tensor Imaging is an ideal technique to study white matter integrity using the Fractional Anisotropy (FA) index which is a measure of axonal integrity and coherence. There have been several reports showing reduced FA in individuals with TBI, which suggest demyelination or reduced fiber density in white matter tracts secondary to injury. Individuals with TBI are usually diagnosed with cognitive deficits such as reduced attention span, memory and executive function. In this study we sought to investigate correlations between brain functional networks, white matter integrity, and TBI severity in individuals with TBI ranging from mild to severe. A resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging protocol was used to study the default mode network in subjects at rest. FA values were decreased throughout all white matter tracts in the mild to severe TBI subjects. FA values were also negatively correlated with TBI injury severity ratings. The default mode network showed several brain regions in which connectivity measures were higher among individuals with TBI relative to control subjects. These findings suggest that, subsequent to TBI, the brain may undergo adaptation responses at the cellular level to compensate for functional impairment due to axonal injury.

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Abbreviations

ACC:

Anterior Cingulate Cortex

BDI:

Beck Depression Inventory

BISQ:

Brain Injury Screening Questionnaire

CC:

Corpus Callosum

DAI:

Diffusion Axonal Injuries

DMN:

Default Mode Network

DTI:

Diffusion Tensor Imaging

FA:

Fractional Anisotropy

fMRI:

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

ICA:

Independent Component Analysis

ICBM:

International Consortium for Brain Mapping

MCI:

Mild Cognitive Impairment

MD:

Mean Diffusivity Maps

MNI:

Montreal Neurological Institute

PC:

Parietal Cortices

PCC:

Posterior Cingulate Cortex

TBI:

Traumatic Brain Injury

TBSS:

Tract Based Spatial Statistics

TFCE:

Threshold-Free Cluster Enhancement

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Cheuk Ying Tang, Emily Eaves, Eric Leung, Edmund Wong, David Carpenter & Johnny Ng

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Cheuk Ying Tang & Giulio Pasinetti

  3. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Kristen Dams-O’Connor & Wayne Gordon

  4. Department of Neurology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Lap Ho & Giulio Pasinetti

  5. James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, NY, 10468, USA

    Giulio Pasinetti

Authors
  1. Cheuk Ying Tang
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  2. Emily Eaves
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  3. Kristen Dams-O’Connor
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  4. Lap Ho
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  7. David Carpenter
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  8. Johnny Ng
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  9. Wayne Gordon
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  10. Giulio Pasinetti
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Correspondence to Giulio Pasinetti.

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Tang, C.Y., Eaves, E., Dams-O’Connor, K. et al. Diffuse disconnectivity in traumatic brain injury: a resting state fMRI and DTI study. Translat.Neurosci. 3, 9–14 (2012). https://doi.org/10.2478/s13380-012-0003-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s13380-012-0003-3

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