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Lippa SM, Yeh PH, Kennedy JE, Bailie JM, Ollinger J, Brickell TA, French LM, Lange RT. Lifetime Blast Exposure Is Not Related to White Matter Integrity in Service Members and Veterans With and Without Uncomplicated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. Neurotrauma Rep 2023; 4:827-837. [PMID: 38156076 PMCID: PMC10754347 DOI: 10.1089/neur.2023.0043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
This study examines the impact of lifetime blast exposure on white matter integrity in service members and veterans (SMVs). Participants were 227 SMVs, including those with a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI; n = 124), orthopedic injury controls (n = 58), and non-injured controls (n = 45), prospectively enrolled in a Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC)/Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence (TBICoE) study. Participants were divided into three groups based on number of self-reported lifetime blast exposures: none (n = 53); low (i.e., 1-9 blasts; n = 81); and high (i.e., ≥10 blasts; n = 93). All participants underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) at least 11 months post-injury. Tract-of-interest (TOI) analysis was applied to investigate fractional anisotropy and mean, radial, and axial diffusivity (AD) in left and right total cerebral white matter as well as 24 tracts. Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) correction was used. Regressions investigating blast exposure and mTBI on white matter integrity, controlling for age, revealed that the presence of mTBI history was associated with lower AD in the bilateral superior longitudinal fasciculus and arcuate fasciculus and left cingulum (βs = -0.255 to -0.174; ps < 0.01); however, when non-injured controls were removed from the sample (but orthopedic injury controls remained), these relationships were attenuated and did not survive FDR correction. Regression models were rerun with modified post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis added as a predictor. After FDR correction, PTSD was not significantly associated with white matter integrity in any of the models. Overall, there was no relationship between white matter integrity and self-reported lifetime blast exposure or PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara M. Lippa
- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Ping-Hong Yeh
- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Jan E. Kennedy
- Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
- Contractor, General Dynamics Information Technology, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
- Brooke Army Medical Center, Joint Base, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Jason M. Bailie
- Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
- Contractor, General Dynamics Information Technology, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
- 33 Area Branch Clinic, Camp Pendleton, California, USA
| | - John Ollinger
- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Tracey A. Brickell
- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
- Contractor, General Dynamics Information Technology, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
| | - Louis M. French
- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Rael T. Lange
- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
- Contractor, General Dynamics Information Technology, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, USA
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Pinasco C, Oviedo M, Goldfeder M, Bruno D, Lischinsky A, Torralva T, Roca M. Sensitivity and specificity of the INECO frontal screening (IFS) in the detection of patients with traumatic brain injury presenting executive deficits. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY. ADULT 2023; 30:289-296. [PMID: 34156897 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2021.1937170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Executive dysfunction (EF) is a common feature of adult traumatic brain injury (TBI), especially in moderate to severe cases. Assessing EF usually requires the administration of an extensive neuropsychological battery, which is time consuming and expensive. The INECO frontal screening (IFS) is a brief, easy-to-administer screening test which has previously shown to be useful in the detection of executive deficits in different psychiatric and neurological populations. The aim of the present study was to assess the usefulness of the IFS in the detection of executive dysfunction in TBI patients. Twenty-eight TBI patients and thirty-two healthy controls were assessed with a battery that included classical executive tests and the IFS. Our results indicated that with a cutoff score of 26.25 points, the IFS showed good sensitivity and specificity in the detection of executive impairments in TBI patients. It also showed good positive and negative predicted values. Our results suggest that the IFS can be considered a useful tool for identifying executive dysfunction in patients with TBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Pinasco
- Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Psicología y Psicopedagogía, Universidad Católica Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mercedes Oviedo
- Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Neurociencias INECO Oroño, Rosario, Argentina
| | - María Goldfeder
- Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Diana Bruno
- Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de investigaciones en Psicología Básica y Aplicada (IIPBA), Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades, Universidad Católica de Cuyo, Rivadavia, San Juan
| | - Alicia Lischinsky
- Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Directora del Departamento de Salud Mental y Psiquiatría de la Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Favaloro, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Teresa Torralva
- Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - María Roca
- Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Verhulst MMLH, Glimmerveen AB, van Heugten CM, Helmich RCG, Hofmeijer J. MRI factors associated with cognitive functioning after acute onset brain injury: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuroimage Clin 2023; 38:103415. [PMID: 37119695 PMCID: PMC10165272 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2023.103415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2023]
Abstract
Impairments of memory, attention, and executive functioning are frequently reported after acute onset brain injury. MRI markers hold potential to contribute to identification of patients at risk for cognitive impairments and clarification of mechanisms. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize and value the evidence on MRI markers of memory, attention, and executive functioning after acute onset brain injury. We included ninety-eight studies, on six classes of MRI factors (location and severity of damage (n = 15), volume/atrophy (n = 36), signs of small vessel disease (n = 15), diffusion-weighted imaging measures (n = 36), resting-state functional MRI measures (n = 13), and arterial spin labeling measures (n = 1)). Three measures showed consistent results regarding their association with cognition. Smaller hippocampal volume was associated with worse memory in fourteen studies (pooled correlation 0.58 [95% CI: 0.46-0.68] for whole, 0.11 [95% CI: 0.04-0.19] for left, and 0.34 [95% CI: 0.17-0.49] for right hippocampus). Lower fractional anisotropy in cingulum and fornix was associated with worse memory in six and five studies (pooled correlation 0.20 [95% CI: 0.08-0.32] and 0.29 [95% CI: 0.20-0.37], respectively). Lower functional connectivity within the default-mode network was associated with worse cognition in four studies. In conclusion, hippocampal volume, fractional anisotropy in cingulum and fornix, and functional connectivity within the default-mode network showed consistent associations with cognitive performance in all types of acute onset brain injury. External validation and cut off values for predicting cognitive impairments are needed for clinical implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlous M L H Verhulst
- Clinical Neurophysiology, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands; Department of Neurology, Rijnstate Hospital, Arnhem, The Netherlands.
| | - Astrid B Glimmerveen
- Clinical Neurophysiology, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands; Department of Neurology, Rijnstate Hospital, Arnhem, The Netherlands
| | - Caroline M van Heugten
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Limburg Brain Injury Center, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Rick C G Helmich
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Neurology, Centre of Expertise for Parkinson & Movement Disorders, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jeannette Hofmeijer
- Clinical Neurophysiology, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands; Department of Neurology, Rijnstate Hospital, Arnhem, The Netherlands
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Lippa SM, Yeh PH, Ollinger J, Brickell TA, French LM, Lange RT. White Matter Integrity Relates to Cognition in Service Members and Veterans after Complicated Mild, Moderate, and Severe Traumatic Brain Injury, But Not Uncomplicated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. J Neurotrauma 2023; 40:260-273. [PMID: 36070443 DOI: 10.1089/neu.2022.0276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The extant literature investigating the relationship between diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and cognition following traumatic brain injury (TBI) is limited by small sample sizes and inappropriate control groups. The present study examined DTI metric differences between service members and veterans (SMVs) with bodily injury (Trauma Control; TC), uncomplicated mild TBI (mTBI), complicated mild TBI (compTBI), and severe-moderate TBI combined (smTBI), and how DTI metrics related to cognition within each group. Participants were 226 SMVs (56 TC, 112 mTBI, 29 compTBI, 29 smTBI) with valid neuropsychological testing and DTI at least 11 months post-injury. The smTBI group demonstrated decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) and increased axial diffusivity (AD), mean diffusivity (MD), and radial diffusivity (RD) of the cerebral white matter (CWM) and several individual white matter tracts compared with the TC, mTBI, and compTBI groups (all ps < 0.05; rs = 0.17 to 0.49). The TC, mTBI, and compTBI groups did not differ in terms of any DTI metrics. Within the smTBI group, FA, AD, MD, and RD of the total CWM and several white matter tracts were related to Processing Speed (|rs|: 0.43 to 0.66; ps < 0.05), and/or Delayed Memory (|rs|: 0.41 to 0.67; ps < 0.05). In the compTBI group, Processing Speed was related to left arcuate fasciculus and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) FA, MD, and RD, as well as left uncinate fasciculus MD and RD. In contrast, there were no significant relationships between DTI metrics and cognition/emotional functioning within the mTBI or TC groups. Overall, findings suggest a dose-response relationship between TBI severity and the strength of the relationship between white matter integrity and cognitive performance, with essentially no relationship in mTBI, some findings in compTBI, and several strongly significant relationships in smTBI. In contrast to previously reported findings, there were no differences in DTI metrics between controls, mTBI, and compTBI, and DTI metrics were unrelated to cognition in our relatively large mTBI group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara M Lippa
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Ping-Hong Yeh
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - John Ollinger
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Tracey A Brickell
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.,Contractor, in support of the Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
| | - Louis M French
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.,Contractor, in support of the Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
| | - Rael T Lange
- National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.,Contractor, in support of the Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Raukola-Lindblom M, Kurki T, Ljungqvist L, Laasonen M, Hämäläinen H, Tenovuo O. Association of cognitive-linguistic deficits to diffusion tensor imaging parameters in moderate to severe traumatic diffuse axonal injury. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY. ADULT 2023:1-8. [PMID: 36688868 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2023.2169885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive-linguistic functions are an essential part of adequate communication competence. Cognitive-linguistic deficits are common after traumatic diffuse axonal injury (DAI). We aimed to examine the integrity of perisylvian white matter tracts known to be associated with linguistic functions in individuals with DAI and their eventual association with poor cognitive-linguistic outcomes. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) results of 44 adults with moderate-to-severe DAI were compared with those of 67 controls. Fractional anisotropy (FA) values of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), arcuate fasciculus (AF), SLF with frontal connections to the lower parietal cortex, and AF with temporal connections to the lower parietal cortex were measured using tractography. The associations between white matter integrity FA values and cognitive-linguistic deficits were studied in the DAI group. Cognitive-linguistic deficits were determined based on our earlier study using the novel KAT test. No previous studies have examined the associations between white matter integrity and cognitive-linguistic deficits determined using the KAT test. Patients with DAI showed lower FA values in all left-side tracts than the controls. Unexpectedly, the poor cognitive-linguistic outcome in the language comprehension and production domains was associated with high FA values of several tracts. After excluding five cases with the poorest cognitive-linguistic performance, but with the highest values in the DTI variables, no significant associations with DTI metrics were found. The association between white matter integrity and cognitive-linguistic functioning is complex in patients with DAI of traumatic origin, probably reflecting the heterogeneity of TBI.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Timo Kurki
- Department of Radiology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Terveystalo Medical Center, Turku, Finland
| | - Linda Ljungqvist
- City of Turku, Welfare Division, Psychosocial Services, Turku, Finland
| | - Marja Laasonen
- Department of Logopedics, School of Humanities, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland
| | - Heikki Hämäläinen
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Olli Tenovuo
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Turku Brain Injury Center, Neurocenter, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
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Wallace EJ, Mathias JL, Ward L, Fripp J, Rose S, Pannek K. A fixel-based analysis of micro- and macro-structural changes to white matter following adult traumatic brain injury. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 41:2187-2197. [PMID: 31999046 PMCID: PMC7268050 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Revised: 01/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Diffusion tensor imaging is often used to assess white matter (WM) changes following traumatic brain injury (TBI), but is limited in voxels that contain multiple fibre tracts. Fixel-based analysis (FBA) addresses this limitation by using a novel method of analysing high angular resolution diffusion-weighted imaging (HARDI) data. FBA examines three aspects of each fibre tract within a voxel: tissue micro-structure (fibre density [FD]), tissue macro-structure (fibre-bundle cross section [FC]) and a combined measure of both (FD and fibre-bundle cross section [FDC]). This study used FBA to identify the location and extent of micro- and macro-structural changes in WM following TBI. A large TBI sample (Nmild = 133, Nmoderate-severe = 29) and control group (healthy and orthopaedic; N = 107) underwent magnetic resonance imaging with HARDI and completed reaction time tasks approximately 7 months after their injury (range: 98-338 days). The TBI group showed micro-structural differences (lower FD) in the corpus callosum and forceps minor, compared to controls. Subgroup analyses revealed that the mild TBI group did not differ from controls on any fixel metric, but the moderate to severe TBI group had significantly lower FD, FC and FDC in multiple WM tracts, including the corpus callosum, cerebral peduncle, internal and external capsule. The moderate to severe TBI group also had significantly slower reaction times than controls, but the mild TBI group did not. Reaction time was not related to fixel findings. Thus, the WM damage caused by moderate to severe TBI manifested as fewer axons and a reduction in the cross-sectional area of key WM tracts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica J. Wallace
- Faculty of Health and Medical SciencesUniversity of AdelaideAdelaideSouth AustraliaAustralia
| | - Jane L. Mathias
- Faculty of Health and Medical SciencesUniversity of AdelaideAdelaideSouth AustraliaAustralia
| | - Lynn Ward
- Faculty of Health and Medical SciencesUniversity of AdelaideAdelaideSouth AustraliaAustralia
| | - Jurgen Fripp
- Australian E‐Health Research Centre, CSIROBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Stephen Rose
- Australian E‐Health Research Centre, CSIROBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Kerstin Pannek
- Australian E‐Health Research Centre, CSIROBrisbaneAustralia
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