Journal of neurotrauma
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Journal of neurotrauma · Sep 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyHow mild traumatic brain injury may affect declarative memory performance in the post-acute stage.
Memory deficits are among the most frequently reported sequelae of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), especially early after injury. To date, these cognitive deficits remain poorly understood, as in most patients the brain is macroscopically intact. To identify the mechanism by which MTBI causes declarative memory impairments, we probed the functionality of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and the prefrontal cortex (PFC), within 6 weeks after injury in 43 patients from a consecutive cohort, and matched healthy controls. ⋯ In contrast, no difference in prefrontal activation was found between patients and controls, nor was there a relation with injury severity. On a behavioral level, injury severity was inversely related to declarative memory performance. In all, these findings suggest that reduced medial temporal functionality may contribute to poorer declarative memory performance in the post-acute stage of MTBI, especially in patients with longer post-traumatic amnesia.