Heart-brain interaction and research progress following traumatic brain injury

Donghong Shen1, Ruoyu Huang1, Liyu Wang1

  • 1Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Discovery and Translational Research for Brain Diseases, Department of Forensic Medicine of School of Basic Medical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.

Neuroscience
|July 11, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) disrupts heart-brain interaction (HBI), impacting cardiac function. Understanding TBI

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cardiology
  • Trauma Research

Background:

  • Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often leads to cardiac dysfunction.
  • Limited clinical understanding of heart-brain interaction (HBI) post-TBI hinders diagnosis and treatment.
  • HBI involves complex bidirectional communication between the heart and brain.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review and synthesize current knowledge on heart-brain interaction following traumatic brain injury.
  • To explore biological and non-biological factors influencing post-TBI HBI.
  • To analyze biomarkers and discuss translational applications for cardiocerebral diseases.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review of current literature on post-TBI HBI.
  • Analysis of biological mechanisms (sympathetic hyperactivity, neuroinflammation, coagulation, cell death).
  • Inclusion of non-biological factors (stress, age, sex) and biomarker correlations.

Main Results:

  • Identified key biological mechanisms driving post-TBI HBI.
  • Highlighted the influence of non-biological factors on HBI.
  • Analyzed correlations between cerebral and cardiac biomarkers in TBI patients.

Conclusions:

  • Post-TBI HBI involves complex biological and non-biological pathways.
  • Biomarker analysis offers insights into heart-brain crosstalk.
  • Findings provide a foundation for precision medicine in TBI management.

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