Effect of age at time of injury on long-term changes in intrinsic functional connectivity in traumatic brain injury

ABSTRACT

Background

Alterations in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) occur in the acute and chronic phases following traumatic brain injury (TBI); however, few studies have assessed long-term (>1 year) changes in rsFC.

Methods

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) scans were obtained from the Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research Informatics Systems. Patients with primarily mild TBI (n = 39) completed rsfMRI scans at the sub-acute (~10 days) and long-term (~18 months) phases. We examined changes in voxel-based rsFC from anterior medial prefrontal cortex (aMPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) seeds in the default mode network (DMN) between both phases. The effect of age at the time of injury on long-term rsFC was also examined.

Results

Increased rsFC from the aMPFC and the PCC to frontal and temporal regions was shown at ~18-months post-injury. Widespread increases in rsFC from the aMPFC and between the PCC and frontal regions were shown for younger patients at time of injury, but limited increases of rsFC were noted at ~18 months in older patients.

Conclusion

Long-term increases in rsFC were found following TBI, but age at the time of injury was associated with distinct rsFC profiles suggesting that younger patients show greater increases in rsFC over time.

KEYWORDS:

• Resting-state fMRI
• functional connectivity
• brain injury
• aging

Acknowledgments

Data and/or research tools used in the preparation of this manuscript were obtained and analyzed from the controlled access datasets distributed from the DOD- and NIH-supported Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research (FITBIR) Informatics Systems. This manuscript reflects the views of the authors and may not reflect the opinions or views of the DOD, NIH, or the Submitters who provided the original data to FITBIR Informatics System.

Declarations of Interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

Financial support was provided to CE through Rutgers University School of Health Professions, and to JDR from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (MOP-126003).