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Repeat traumatic brain injury exacerbates acute thalamic hyperconnectivity in humans.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Repository DOI


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Authors

Stamatakis, Emmanuel A  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6955-9601
CENTER-TBI MRI Sub-study Participants and Investigators 

Abstract

Repeated mild traumatic brain injury is of growing interest regarding public and sporting safety and is thought to have greater adverse or cumulative neurological effects when compared with single injury. While epidemiological links between repeated traumatic brain injury and outcome have been investigated in humans, exploration of its mechanistic substrates has been largely undertaken in animal models. We compared acute neurological effects of repeat mild traumatic brain injury (n = 21) to that of single injury (n = 21) and healthy controls (n = 76) using resting-state functional MRI and quantified thalamic functional connectivity, given previous identification of its prognostic potential in human mild traumatic brain injury and rodent repeat mild traumatic brain injury. Acute thalamocortical functional connectivity showed a rank-based trend of increasing connectivity with number of injuries, at local and global scales of investigation. Thus, history of as few as two previous injuries can induce a vulnerable neural environment of exacerbated hyperconnectivity, in otherwise healthy individuals from non-specialist populations. These results further establish thalamocortical functional connectivity as a scalable marker of acute injury and long-term neural dysfunction following mild traumatic brain injury.

Description

Acknowledgements: We would like to thank all participants and investigators from the CENTER-TBI MRI sub-study.


Funder: European Union Seventh Framework Programme; doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100004963


Funder: Stephen Erskine Fellowship at Queens’ College


Funder: Royal College of Anaesthetists; doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001297


Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research; doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000272


Funder: Medical Research Council UK; doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100007155

Keywords

concussion, fMRI, mild traumatic brain injury, neuroimaging, thalamus

Journal Title

Brain Commun

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2632-1297
2632-1297

Volume Title

6

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)
Sponsorship
MRC (2431062)
European Commission (602150)
MRC (MR/N013433/1)
We would like to thank all participants and investigators from the CENTER-TBI MRI sub-study. We also thank our funding bodies, FP7 Health European Union Grant 602150 (CENTER-TBI, DKM, EAS), Medical Research Council (MRC) Doctoral Training Programme Grant MR N013433-1 (REW), Stephen Erskine Fellowship at Queens’ College, Cambridge (EAS), Canadian Institute for Advanced Research grant RCZB/072 RG93193 (EAS, DKM), British Oxygen Professorship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (DKM), NIHR Senior Investigator Awards (DKM), and Medical Research Council UK (DKM).