Faculty Collaboration Database

Resting-State fMRI Metrics in Acute Sport-Related Concussion and Their Association with Clinical Recovery: A Study from the NCAA-DOD CARE Consortium. J Neurotrauma 2020 Jan 01;37(1):152-162

Date

08/14/2019

Pubmed ID

31407610

Pubmed Central ID

PMC6921290

DOI

10.1089/neu.2019.6471

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85076896953 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   36 Citations

Abstract

There has been a recent call for longitudinal cohort studies to track the physiological recovery of sport-related concussion (SRC) and its relationship with clinical recovery. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) has shown potential for detecting subtle changes in brain function after SRC. We investigated the effects of SRC on rs-fMRI metrics assessing local connectivity (regional homogeneity; REHO), global connectivity (average nodal strength), and the relative amplitude of slow oscillations of rs-fMRI (fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations; fALFF). Athletes diagnosed with SRC (n = 92) completed visits with neuroimaging at 24-48 h post-injury (24 h), after clearance to begin the return-to-play (RTP) progression (asymptomatic), and 7 days following unrestricted RTP (post-RTP). Non-injured athletes (n = 82) completed visits yoked to the schedule of matched injured athletes and served as controls. Concussed athletes had elevated symptoms, worse neurocognitive performance, greater balance deficits, and elevated psychological symptoms at the 24-h visit relative to controls. These deficits were largely recovered by the asymptomatic visit. Concussed athletes still reported elevated psychological symptoms at the asymptomatic visit relative to controls. Concussed athletes also had elevated REHO in the right middle and superior frontal gyri at the 24-h visit that returned to normal levels by the asymptomatic visit. Additionally, REHO in these regions at 24 h predicted psychological symptoms at the asymptomatic visit in concussed athletes. Current results suggest that SRC is associated with an acute alteration in local connectivity that follows a similar time course as clinical recovery. Our results do not indicate strong evidence that concussion-related alterations in rs-fMRI persist beyond clinical recovery.

Author List

Meier TB, Giraldo-Chica M, España LY, Mayer AR, Harezlak J, Nencka AS, Wang Y, Koch KM, Wu YC, Saykin AJ, Giza CC, Goldman J, DiFiori JP, Guskiewicz KM, Mihalik JP, Brooks A, Broglio SP, McAllister T, McCrea MA

Authors

Kevin M. Koch PhD Center Director, Professor in the Radiology department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Michael McCrea PhD Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Timothy B. Meier PhD Associate Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Andrew S. Nencka PhD Director, Associate Professor in the Radiology department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Yang Wang MD Professor in the Radiology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Athletic Injuries
Brain Concussion
Female
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Neuroimaging
Recovery of Function
Rest
Young Adult