Asn Neuro
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Sports-related concussion in youth is a major public health issue. Evaluating the diffuse and often subtle changes in structure and function that occur in the brain, particularly in this population, remains a significant challenge. The goal of this pilot study was to evaluate the relationship between the intrinsic dynamics of the brain using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and relate these findings to structural brain correlates from diffusion tensor imaging in a group of adolescents with sports-related concussions ( n = 6) and a group of healthy adolescent athletes ( n = 6). ⋯ Importantly, this lack of dynamic flexibility in the concussed group was associated with increased nodal strength in the left middle frontal gyrus, suggesting reorganization in a region related to attention. This preliminary report shows that both the intrinsic brain dynamics and structural organization are altered in networks related to attention in adolescents with concussion. This first report in adolescents will be used to inform future studies in a larger cohort.
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An estimated 5.3 million Americans are living with a disability from a traumatic brain injury (TBI). There is emerging evidence of the detrimental effects from repeated mild TBIs (rmTBIs). rmTBI manifests its own unique set of behavioral and neuropathological changes. A subset of individuals exposed to rmTBI develop permanent behavioral and pathological consequences, defined postmortem as chronic traumatic encephalopathy. ⋯ Moreover, both of these pathological changes correlated with behavioral impairments. In human tau transgenic mice, rmCHI induced increases in hyperphosphorylated paired helical filament 1 tau in the hippocampus. This suggests that strategies to restore myelination or reduce neuronal loss may ameliorate the behavioral deficits observed following rmCHI and that rmCHI may model chronic traumatic encephalopathy in human tau mice.