Prospective longitudinal investigation shows correlation of event-related potential to mild traumatic brain injury in adolescents

ABSTRACT

Study Design

Prospective longitudinal cohort study

Background

Adolescent athletes may be more susceptible to the long-term effects of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). A diagnostic and prognostic neuromarker may optimize management and return-to-activity decision-making in athletes who experience mTBI.

Objective

Measure an event-related potential (ERP) component captured with electroencephalography (EEG), called processing negativity (PN), at baseline and post-injury in adolescents who suffered mTBI and determine their longitudinal response relative to healthy controls.

Methods

Thirty adolescents had EEG recorded during an auditory oddball task at a pre-mTBI baseline session and subsequent post-mTBI sessions. Longitudinal EEG data from patients and healthy controls (n= 77) were obtained from up to four sessions in total and processed using Brain Network Analysis algorithms.

Results

The average PN amplitude in healthy controls significantly decreased over sessions 2 and 3; however, it remained steady in the mTBI group’s 2nd (post-mTBI) session and decreased only in sessions 3 and 4. Pre- to post-mTBI amplitude changes correlated with the time interval between sessions.

Conclusion

These results demonstrate that PN amplitude changes may be associated with mTBI exposure and subsequent recovery in adolescent athletes. Further study of PN may lead to it becoming a neuromarker for mTBI prognosis and return-to-activity decision-making in adolescents.

KEYWORDS:

• Event-related potential
• concussion
• neuroscience

Acknowledgments

The authors declare no competing financial interests, including equity, consulting fees, or stock ownership.

Statement of financial disclosure and conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing financial interests, including equity, consulting fees, or stock ownership. This work was supported by the Israeli Chief Scientist Office [grant numbers 54868, 55694].

I affirm that I have no financial affiliation (including research funding) or involvement with any commercial organization that has a direct financial interest in any matter included in this manuscript, except as disclosed in an attachment and cited in the manuscript. Any other conflict of interest (i.e., personal associations or involvement as a director, officer, or expert witness) is also disclosed in an attachment.

IRB or ethics committee approval of study protocol

Solutions IRB, CCHMC IRB, IntegReview IRB, IRBMED, Patient Advocacy Council, Inc.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Israeli Chief Scientist Office [grant numbers 54868, 55694].