Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 28, 2025
Development of an Uncomplicated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Model Modified by Weight-Drop Method and Evidenced by Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: April 11, 2025
Association between mild traumatic brain injury, brain structure, and mental health outcomes in the Adolescent Brain
Daniel A Lopez1, Zachary P Christensen2, John J Foxe2
1Department of Neuroscience, The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, USA; Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Epidemiology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.
Background:
Children that experience a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are at an increased risk of neural alterations that can deteriorate mental health. We test the hypothesis that mTBI is associated with psychopathology and that structural brain metrics (e.g., volume, area) meaningfully mediate the relation in an adolescent population.
Methods:
We analyzed behavioral and brain MRI data from 11,876 children who participated in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Mixed-effects models were used to examine the longitudinal association between mTBI and mental health outcomes. Bayesian methods were used to investigate brain regions that are intermediate between mTBI and symptoms of poor mental health.
Results:
There were 199 children with mTBI and 527 with possible mTBI across the three ABCD Study visits. There was a 7% (IRR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.13) and 15% (IRR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.26) increased risk of emotional or behavioral problems in children that experienced possible mTBI or mTBI, respectively. Possible mTBI was associated with a 17% (IRR: 1.17, 95% CI: 0.99, 1.40) increased risk of experiencing distress following a psychotic-like experience. We did not find any brain regions that meaningfully mediated the relationship between mTBI and mental health outcomes. Analysis of volumetric measures found that approximately 2% to 5% of the total effect of mTBI on mental health outcomes operated through total cortical volume. Image intensity measure analyses determined that approximately 2% to 5% of the total effect was mediated through the left-hemisphere of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
Conclusion:
Results indicate an increased risk of emotional and behavioral problems in children that experienced possible mTBI or mTBI. Mediation analyses did not elucidate the mechanisms underlying the association between mTBI and mental health outcomes.
