title: Magnetoencephalography-based identification of functional connectivity network disruption following mild traumatic brain injury.
abstract: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) leads to long-term cognitive sequelae in a significant portion of patients. Disruption of normal neural communication across functional brain networks may explain the deficits in memory and attention observed after mTBI. In this study, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to examine functional connectivity during a resting state in a group of mTBI subjects (n = 9) compared with age-matched control subjects (n = 15). We adopted a data-driven, exploratory analysis in source space using phase locking value across different frequency bands. We observed a significant reduction in functional connectivity in band-specific networks in mTBI compared with control subjects. These networks spanned multiple cortical regions involved in the default mode network (DMN). The DMN is thought to subserve memory and attention during periods when an individual is not engaged in a specific task, and its disruption may lead to cognitive deficits after mTBI. We further applied graph theoretical analysis on the functional connectivity matrices. Our data suggest reduced local efficiency in different brain regions in mTBI patients. In conclusion, MEG can be a potential tool to investigate and detect network alterations in patients with mTBI. The value of MEG to reveal potential neurophysiological biomarkers for mTBI patients warrants further exploration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alhourani
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Wozny
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Deepa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Krishnaswamy
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Sudhir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pathak
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Brain Mapping Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Shawn A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Walls
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition and University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and.
authors.forename: Avniel S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Ghuman
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Donald N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Krieger
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: David O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Okonkwo
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition and University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and.
authors.forename: R Mark
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; niranjana@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Niranjan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000070642:Brain Injuries, Traumatic / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology; D012146:Rest; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: concussion; default mode network; functional connectivity; graph theory; magnetoencephalography; phase locking value; resting-state analysis; traumatic brain injury