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Updated: Mar 17, 2026
Assessing Changes in Synaptic Plasticity Using an Awake Closed-Head Injury Model of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: January 20, 2023
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychiatric Disorders in Year 1 of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD)
Emily A Troyer1, Wenjing Meng2, Michael Cheng3
1Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego.
Objective:
Pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a major public health concern. New psychiatric disorders (NPDs) can arise after mTBI, yet postinjury NPDs in nonclinical samples remain poorly understood.
Methods:
NPDs were prospectively characterized for youths ages 9-11 years who experienced an mTBI in their first year of participation in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, compared with control groups of orthopedically injured and noninjured individuals; a broad set of preinjury factors was accounted for in analyses.
Results:
Between baseline (ages 9-10) and year 1 (ages 10-11), 135 youths had an mTBI, with 110 incurring a first lifetime mTBI. The prevalence of NPDs at the year-1 study visit was comparable among the injury groups, and mTBI did not predict NPDs at year 1. Preinjury psychiatric diagnoses significantly predicted NPDs (NPD-current [NPD-C] group: OR=2.18, 95% CI=1.30-3.61, p=0.003; NPD-any [NPD-A] group: OR=1.70, 95% CI=1.16-2.52, p=0.006), and self-reported Hispanic ethnicity was associated with lower odds of NPDs at year 1 (NPD-C group: OR=0.19, 95% CI=0.03-0.78, p=0.018; NPD-A group: OR=0.57, 95% CI=0.31-0.98, p=0.043).
Conclusions:
These results suggest that for nonclinically selected youths with mTBI, in the first year after late childhood injury, mTBI is not associated with differential odds of NPDs. Preinjury psychiatric history predicted NPDs, and self-reported Hispanic ethnicity predicted lower odds of NPDs at year 1. Future studies are needed to further characterize psychiatric sequelae after pediatric mTBI across adolescence to identify risk and protective factors for targeted prevention and intervention strategies.
