Morphometric changes in the cortex following acute mild traumatic brain injury

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Radiology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Cortical thickness, surface area, and volume changes can indicate pathology after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).
• Previous research primarily focused on subacute or chronic mTBI, with limited investigation into acute-stage changes and their cognitive correlates.
• Cognitive impairment is common in acute mTBI, but its relationship with cerebral morphological alterations remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate cortical morphometric changes (cortical thickness, cortical surface area, cortical volume) in the acute stage of mTBI.
• To examine the relationship between these morphological changes and cognitive function in acute mTBI patients.

Main Methods:

• Prospective cohort study involving 30 acute mTBI patients and 27 healthy controls.
• High-resolution T1-weighted MRI scans acquired within 7 days of mTBI onset.
• FreeSurfer software used for morphometric analysis; cognitive function assessed using the Digital Symbol Substitution Test and Trail Making Test (Parts A and B).

Main Results:

• Significantly increased cortical surface area and cortical volume in the right lateral occipital gyrus were observed in acute mTBI patients compared to controls.
• No significant changes in cortical thickness were found.
• Acute mTBI patients exhibited reduced executive function and processing speed, along with impaired cognitive ability.
• Increased cortical surface area and cortical volume in the right lateral occipital gyrus were negatively correlated with performance on the Trail Making Test Part A.

Conclusions:

• Cognitive deficits and alterations in cortical surface area and volume are detectable in the acute stage of mTBI.
• Increased cortical surface area and cortical volume in the right lateral occipital gyrus may serve as a compensatory mechanism for cognitive dysfunction in acute mTBI.
• These findings highlight the potential for early detection of brain alterations and cognitive impairments following mTBI.