Our goal in this workstream, is to use non-invasive brain imaging methods, namely magnetoencephalography (MEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to determine if there are measures of brain function and structure which can be used in the diagnosis and prognostication of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), known as biomarkers.
Using MEG we can directly measure neuronal brain activity. We will identify changes in brain waves associated with mTBI as well as changes in communication between brain regions, known as networks. We will do this while the patients are performing various tasks related to attention and emotional processing.
MRI will be used at 3 Tesla and 7 Tesla, to determine any subtle structural changes in the composition of the neurons within the brain, such as changes in how regions are structurally connected or in the total volume of neurons. We will also look at brain function via measuring changes in blood oxygenation associated with neuronal activity. This will complement the MEG measures allowing interrogation of structures deep within the brain which are hard to measure with MEG. Finally, using MRI we will be measuring changes in blood flow in the vasculature within the brain and how the brain’s blood supply can react to demands placed on it.
We expect to demonstrate that structural and functional changes at the network level will allow for predicting the longer-term problems associated with mTBI. With our measures we will get a complete overview of the brain damage associated with mTBI that will help to assess the severity of the injury and to guide the clinical management of this condition.
Lead Researchers