Dynamic Functional Connectivity in Pediatric Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Harm J. van der Horn,
Josef M. Ling,
Tracey V. Wick,
Andrew B. Dodd,
Cidney R. Robertson-Benta,
Jessica R. McQuaid,
Vadim Zotev,
Andrei A. Vakhtin,
Sephira G. Ryman,
Joana Cabral,
John P. Phillips,
Richard A. Campbell,
Robert E. Sapien,
Andrew R. Mayer
Affiliations
Harm J. van der Horn
The Mind Research Network/LBERI, Albuquerque, NM 87106; Corresponding author: Harm Jan van der Horn, M.D., Ph.D., The Mind Research Network, Pete & Nancy Domenici Hall, 1101 Yale Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106; Tel: 505-272-5028; Fax: 505-272-8002
Josef M. Ling
The Mind Research Network/LBERI, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Tracey V. Wick
The Mind Research Network/LBERI, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Andrew B. Dodd
The Mind Research Network/LBERI, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Cidney R. Robertson-Benta
The Mind Research Network/LBERI, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Jessica R. McQuaid
The Mind Research Network/LBERI, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Vadim Zotev
The Mind Research Network/LBERI, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Andrei A. Vakhtin
The Mind Research Network/LBERI, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Sephira G. Ryman
The Mind Research Network/LBERI, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Joana Cabral
Life and Health Sciences Research Institute, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
John P. Phillips
The Mind Research Network/LBERI, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Richard A. Campbell
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
Robert E. Sapien
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
Andrew R. Mayer
The Mind Research Network/LBERI, Albuquerque, NM 87106; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131; Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131; Department of Neurology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
Resting-state fMRI can be used to identify recurrent oscillatory patterns of functional connectivity within the human brain, also known as dynamic brain states. Alterations in dynamic brain states are highly likely to occur following pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (pmTBI) due to the active developmental changes. The current study used resting-state fMRI to investigate dynamic brain states in 200 patients with pmTBI (ages 8-18 years, median = 14 years) at the subacute (∼1-week post-injury) and early chronic (∼ 4 months post-injury) stages, and in 179 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC). A k-means clustering analysis was applied to the dominant time-varying phase coherence patterns to obtain dynamic brain states. In addition, correlations between brain signals were computed as measures of static functional connectivity. Dynamic connectivity analyses showed that patients with pmTBI spend less time in a frontotemporal default mode/limbic brain state, with no evidence of change as a function of recovery post-injury. Consistent with models showing traumatic strain convergence in deep grey matter and midline regions, static interhemispheric connectivity was affected between the left and right precuneus and thalamus, and between the right supplementary motor area and contralateral cerebellum. Changes in static or dynamic connectivity were not related to symptom burden or injury severity measures, such as loss of consciousness and post-traumatic amnesia. In aggregate, our study shows that brain dynamics are altered up to 4 months after pmTBI, in brain areas that are known to be vulnerable to TBI. Future longitudinal studies are warranted to examine the significance of our findings in terms of long-term neurodevelopment.
