title: The Relation of Focal Lesions to Cortical Thickness in Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury.
abstract: In a sample of children with traumatic brain injury, this magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based investigation examined whether presence of a focal lesion uniquely influenced cortical thickness in any brain region. Specifically, the study explored the relation of cortical thickness to injury severity as measured by Glasgow Coma Scale score and length of stay, along with presence of encephalomalacia, focal white matter lesions or presence of hemosiderin deposition as a marker of shear injury. For comparison, a group of children without head injury but with orthopedic injury of similar age and sex were also examined. Both traumatic brain injury and orthopedic injury children had normally reduced cortical thickness with age, assumed to reflect neuronal pruning. However, the reductions observed within the traumatic brain injury sample were similar to those in the orthopedic injury group, suggesting that in this sample traumatic brain injury, per se, did not uniquely alter cortical thickness in any brain region at the group level. Injury severity in terms of Glasgow Coma Scale or longer length of stay was associated with greater reductions in frontal and occipitoparietal cortical thickness. However, presence of focal lesions were not related to unique changes in cortical thickness despite having a prominent distribution of lesions within frontotemporal regions among children with traumatic brain injury. Because focal lesions were highly heterogeneous, their association with cortical thickness and development appeared to be idiosyncratic, and not associated with group level effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and the Neuroscience Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA erin_bigler@byu.edu.
authors.forename: Erin D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Bigler
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Brandon A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Zielinski
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Goodrich-Hunsaker
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Garrett M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Black
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA.
authors.forename: B S Trevor
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Huff
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Zachary
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Christiansen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Dawn-Marie
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Tracy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Abildskov
authors.affiliation: Program in Neuroscience & Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada Department of Surgery and Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dennis
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University and Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: H Gerry
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA Center for Behavioral Health, Columbus Children's Research Institute, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vannatta
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA Center for Behavioral Health, Columbus Children's Research Institute, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Cynthia A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Gerhardt
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University and Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA Department of Psychiatry, MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stancin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA Center for Biobehavioral Health, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Keith Owen
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Yeates
mesh_terms: D000070642:Brain Injuries, Traumatic / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004678:Encephalomalacia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006485:Hemosiderin / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D066127:White Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006485:Hemosiderin
keywords: brain development; cortical thickness; lesion analysis; pediatric traumatic brain injury