Executive attention deficits after traumatic brain injury reflect impaired recruitment of resources.
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.
Department of Neuroscience, Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, United States.
Sudhin A
SA
Shah
Cognitive Rehabilitation Department and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, JFK-Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, Edison, NJ 08820, United States.
Yelena
Y
Goldin
Department of Neuroscience, Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, United States.
Mary M
MM
Conte
Department of Neurology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, United States.
Andrew M
AM
Goldfine
SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203, United States.
Maliheh
M
Mohamadpour
Department of Neuroscience, Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, United States.
Brian C
BC
Fidali
Cognitive Rehabilitation Department and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, JFK-Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, Edison, NJ 08820, United States.
Keith
K
Cicerone
Department of Neuroscience, Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, United States.
Nicholas D
ND
Schiff
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D000070642:Brain Injuries, Traumatic / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D013826:Theta Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
Attention network test; EEG; Executive attention; Frontal lobe; Medial frontal theta; Traumatic brain injury