Executive attention deficits after traumatic brain injury reflect impaired recruitment of resources.

TitleExecutive attention deficits after traumatic brain injury reflect impaired recruitment of resources.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2017
AuthorsShah, Sudhin A., Goldin Yelena, Conte Mary M., Goldfine Andrew M., Mohamadpour Maliheh, Fidali Brian C., Cicerone Keith, and Schiff Nicholas D.
JournalNeuroimage Clin
Volume14
Pagination233-241
Date Published2017
ISSN2213-1582
KeywordsAdult, Attention, Brain Injuries, Traumatic, Cognition Disorders, Electroencephalography, Executive Function, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Nerve Net, Neuropsychological Tests, Principal Component Analysis, Reaction Time, Spectrum Analysis, Theta Rhythm, Young Adult
Abstract

Deficits in attention are a common and devastating consequence of traumatic brain injury (TBI), leading to functional impairments, rehabilitation barriers, and long-term disability. While such deficits are well documented, little is known about their underlying pathophysiology hindering development of effective and targeted interventions. Here we evaluate the integrity of brain systems specific to attentional functions using quantitative assessments of electroencephalography recorded during performance of the Attention Network Test (ANT), a behavioral paradigm that separates alerting, orienting, and executive components of attention. We studied 13 patients, at least 6 months post-TBI with cognitive impairments, and 24 control subjects. Based on performance on the ANT, TBI subjects showed selective impairment in executive attention. In TBI subjects, principal component analysis combined with spectral analysis of the EEG after target appearance extracted a pattern of increased frontal midline theta power (2.5-7.5 Hz) and suppression of frontal beta power (12.5-22.5 Hz). Individual expression of this pattern correlated (r = - 0.67, p < 0.001) with executive attention impairment. The grading of this pattern of spatiotemporal dynamics with executive attention deficits reflects impaired recruitment of anterior forebrain resources following TBI; specifically, deafferentation and variable disfacilitation of medial frontal neuronal populations is proposed as the basis of our findings.

DOI10.1016/j.nicl.2017.01.010
Alternate JournalNeuroimage Clin
PubMed ID28180082
PubMed Central IDPMC5288490
Grant ListK23 HD079556 / HD / NICHD NIH HHS / United States
UL1 TR000457 / TR / NCATS NIH HHS / United States

Weill Cornell Medicine Consortium for the Advanced Study of Brain Injury 520 East 70th Street New York, NY