Role of the thalamus in natural recovery of cognitive impairment in patients with mild traumatic brain injury

Purpose People with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) may experience deficits in cognition or communication that go unnoticed by first-line health care providers (FHPs). Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) assess and treat these domains yet are often underrepresented on mTBI multidisciplinary teams. This study's aim was to evaluate FHPs' reported knowledge of and referral practices to SLPs for individuals across the life span with mTBI. Method Physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and athletic trainers ( n = 126) completed an online survey, including two Likert scale questions and one free response question relating to SLPs' role in mTBI. Results More than half of FHPs rate their knowledge of the SLP's role in mTBI management as low (somewhat knowledgeable, 29%; not very knowledgeable, 23%). Similarly, nearly two thirds of FHPs indicated rarely (19%) or never (44%), referring to SLPs for management of patients with mTBI. The majority of FHPs' open responses on the role of the SLP in mTBI management were incomplete, with many including domains that were not relevant to an SLP's role in the management of mTBI (e.g., dysphagia). Within the article, we provide results overall and according to individual profession. Conclusions Results suggest a majority of FHPs lack knowledge in the role of the SLP in the management of mTBI, which may underpin the low referral patterns reported by FHPs for SLP services. Future educational efforts for FHPs regarding the role of SLPs in mTBI care are necessary.

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Links Between Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Cognitive Impairment and Social Inference Four Years Post-Injury

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation ◽

10.1016/j.apmr.2018.08.039 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 99 (11) ◽

pp. e140

Author(s):

Alice Theadom ◽

Kelly Jones ◽

Nicola Starkey ◽

Skye McDonald ◽

Suzanne Barker-Collo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Brain Injury ◽

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Post Injury ◽

Social Inference

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Results of scoping review do not support mild traumatic brain injury being associated with a high incidence of chronic cognitive impairment: Commentary on McInnes et al. 2017

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0218997 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (9) ◽

pp. e0218997 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Grant L. Iverson ◽

Justin E. Karr ◽

Andrew J. Gardner ◽

Noah D. Silverberg ◽

Douglas P. Terry

Keyword(s):

Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Brain Injury ◽

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Scoping Review ◽

High Incidence

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The Role of Thalamic Damage in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Journal of Neurotrauma ◽

10.1089/neu.2015.3965 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 163-167 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Elan J. Grossman ◽

Matilde Inglese

Keyword(s):

Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Brain Injury ◽

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

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Cerebral Blood Flow and Its Connectivity Deficits in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury at the Acute Stage

Neural Plasticity ◽

10.1155/2020/2174371 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Fengfang Li ◽

Liyan Lu ◽

Song’an Shang ◽

Huiyou Chen ◽

Peng Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Blood Flow ◽

Cerebral Blood Flow ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Brain Injury ◽

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury ◽

Arterial Spin Labeling ◽

Spin Labeling ◽

Perfusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽

The Right

Objective. The influence of cognitive impairment after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) on cerebral vascular perfusion has been widely concerned, yet the resting-state cerebral blood flow (CBF) connectivity alterations based on arterial spin labeling (ASL) in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) remain unclear. This study investigated region CBF and CBF connectivity features in acute mTBI patients, as well as the associations between CBF changes and cognitive impairment. Materials and Methods. Forty-five acute mTBI patients and 42 health controls underwent pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The alterations in regional CBF and relationship between the CBF changes and cognitive impairment were detected. The ASL-CBF connectivity of the brain regions with regional CBF significant differences was also compared between two groups. Neuropsychological tests covered seven cognitive domains. Associations between the CBF changes and cognitive impairment were further investigated. Results. Compared with the healthy controls, the acute mTBI patients exhibited increased CBF in the bilateral inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) and decreased CBF in the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG), the bilateral superior frontal gyrus (SFG), and the right cerebellum posterior lobe (CPL). In the mTBI patients, significant correlations were identified between the CBF changes and cognitive impairment. Importantly, the acute mTBI patients exhibited CBF disconnections between the right CPL and right fusiform gyrus (FG) as well as bilateral ITG, between the left SFG and left middle occipital gyrus (MOG), and between the right SFG and right FG as well as right parahippocampal gyrus. Conclusion. Our results suggest that acute mTBI patients exhibit both regional CBF abnormalities and CBF connectivity deficits, which may underlie the cognitive impairment of the acute mTBI patients.

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