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Published on: November 6, 2020
Long-Term Associations of Subconcussive Blast Exposure With Brain Function and Structure
Jared A Rowland1, Benjamin T Dunkley, Jennifer R Stapleton-Kotloski
1Author Affiliations: Research and Academic Affairs Service Line (Rowland, Hamilton, McDonald, and Martindale), Salisbury VA Healthcare System, Research and Academic Affairs, Salisbury, North Carolina; Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (Rowland, Martindale), Durham, North Carolina; Department of Translational Neuroscience (Rowland, Godwin, Martindale), Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Neurosciences & Mental Health (Dunkley), SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Medical Imaging (Dunkley), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology (Dunkley), Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology (Dunkley), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Psychology (Dunkley), University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom; Department of Neurology (Stapleton-Kotloski), Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Department of Biomedical Engineering (Hamilton), Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Subconcussive blast exposure, even without symptoms, impacts long-term brain function. Both the severity and frequency of these exposures alter the brain
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Military Medicine
Background:
- Subconcussive blast exposure is common in military personnel.
- Previous research often combined concussive and subconcussive exposures.
- The long-term effects of subconcussive blast exposure alone are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between characteristics of subconcussive blast exposure and brain structure/function.
- To differentiate the effects of blast severity versus frequency on the brain.
- To assess brain changes in veterans without a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Main Methods:
- Observational study of 107 combat-exposed veterans without TBI history.
- Magnetoencephalography (MEG) measured functional brain connectome metrics.
- Anatomical MRI and the Salisbury Blast Interview assessed brain volumes and blast exposure history.
Main Results:
- Average blast severity correlated with slower oscillatory communication.
- Blast frequency was linked to topological brain network differences.
- Subconcussive blast exposure did not affect regional brain volumes.
Conclusions:
- Cumulative subconcussive blast exposure is associated with long-term brain function changes.
- Both severity and frequency of exposure independently impact the functional connectome.
- Subconcussive blast exposure can be an invisible neurological insult with lasting effects.
