Predicting Response to Memory Training in TBI with fMRI

University Of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City KS

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Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is the second revised application for an R21 entitled: Predicting Response to Memory Training in TBI with fMRI. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability in young otherwise healthy adults. The consequences of TBI are highly variable, with some individuals showing good recovery and others suffering chronic disability with profound cognitive and social impacts. Long-term outcome from TBI is difficult to predict using standard measures of injury severity, cognitive impairment, and conventional neuroimaging. Cognitive activation studies using fMRI may offer improved methods for outcome prediction in TBI. fMRI paradigms enable quantification of neural network function during cognitive challenges, providing in vivo measures of functional integrity. We predict that these data will be useful in quantifying the degree of functional neural impairment, understanding neural mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment in individuals with TBI, and ultimately predicting long-term outcome. This project aims to identify mechanisms of recovery from TBI by examining brain systems supporting the use of semantic strategies during non-cued and cued verbal learning using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The study addresses two Specific Aims: 1. Assess the ability of TBI patients and matched healthy control (HC) participants to utilize semantic strategies under both non-cued and cued conditions and define how patterns of brain activation change to support this process. 2. Examine specific patterns of brain activation with fMRI in predefined regions of interest (ROI) in TBI and HC groups and determine how individual differences in brain activation relate to cognitive functioning and behavior in natural settings. This work is innovative and at an early stage of development, and thus appropriate for the R21 mechanism. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]