White matter integrity and cognition in chronic traumatic brain injury: a diffusion tensor imaging study

作者：Marilyn F. Kraus, Teresa M. Susmaras, Benjamin Caughlin, Caitlin S. Walker, John A. Sweeney, Deborah M. Little · 发表于：Brain · 年份：2007 · DOI：10.1093/brain/awm216 · 被引用次数：1007 · 研究领域：Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications、Traumatic Brain Injury Research、Traumatic Brain Injury and Neurovascular Disturbances

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious public health problem. Even injuries classified as mild, the most common, can result in persistent neurobehavioural impairment. Diffuse axonal injury is a common finding after TBI, and is presumed to contribute to outcomes, but may not always be apparent using standard neuroimaging. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a more recent method of assessing axonal integrity in vivo. The primary objective of the current investigation was to characterize white matter integrity utilizing DTI across the spectrum of chronic TBI of all severities. A secondary objective was to examine the relationship between white matter integrity and cognition. Twenty mild, 17 moderate to severe TBI and 18 controls underwent DTI and neuropsychological testing. Fractional anisotropy, axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity were calculated from the DTI data. Fractional anisotropy was the primary measure of white matter integrity. Region of interest analysis included anterior and posterior corona radiata, cortico-spinal tracts, cingulum fibre bundles, external capsule, forceps minor and major, genu, body and splenium of the corpus callosum, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, superior longitudinal fasciculus and sagittal stratum. Cognitive domain scores were calculated from executive, attention and memory testing. Decreased fractional anisotropy was found in all 13 regions of interest for the moderate to severe TBI group, but only in the cortico-spinal tract, sagi...