Concussion Disrupts Normal Brain White Matter Microstructural Symmetry
Injuries and illnesses can alter the normal bilateral symmetry of the brain, and determining the extent of this disruption may be useful in characterizing the pathology. One way of quantifying brain symmetry is in terms of bilateral correlation of diffusion tensor metrics between homologous white ma...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neurology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2020.548220/full |
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| author | Jun Maruta Jun Maruta Jun Maruta Jacob M. Mallott Gary Sulioti Gary Sulioti Jamshid Ghajar Jamshid Ghajar Eva M. Palacios Pratik Mukherjee Pratik Mukherjee |
| author_facet | Jun Maruta Jun Maruta Jun Maruta Jacob M. Mallott Gary Sulioti Gary Sulioti Jamshid Ghajar Jamshid Ghajar Eva M. Palacios Pratik Mukherjee Pratik Mukherjee |
| author_sort | Jun Maruta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Injuries and illnesses can alter the normal bilateral symmetry of the brain, and determining the extent of this disruption may be useful in characterizing the pathology. One way of quantifying brain symmetry is in terms of bilateral correlation of diffusion tensor metrics between homologous white matter tracts. With this approach, we hypothesized that the brains of patients with a concussion are more asymmetrical than those of healthy individuals without a history of a concussion. We scanned the brains of 35 normal individuals and 15 emergency department patients with a recent concussion. Fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) were determined for regions of interest (ROI) defined by a standard white-matter atlas that included 21 bilateral ROIs. For each ROI pair, bilateral correlation coefficients were calculated and compared between the two subject groups. A symmetry index, defined as the ratio between the difference and the sum of bilateral measures, was also calculated for each ROI pair and compared between the groups. We found that in normal subjects, the extent of symmetry varied among regions and individuals, and at least subtle forms of structural lateralization were common across regions. In patients, higher asymmetry was found overall as well as in the corticospinal tract specifically. Results indicate that a concussion can manifest in brain asymmetry that deviates from a normal state. The clinical utility of characterizing post-concussion pathology as abnormal brain asymmetry merits further exploration. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T07:09:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bbf9ed8032da4012b449eb07f8979790 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-2295 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T07:09:11Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Neurology |
| spelling | doaj.art-bbf9ed8032da4012b449eb07f89797902022-12-21T23:12:01ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurology1664-22952020-11-011110.3389/fneur.2020.548220548220Concussion Disrupts Normal Brain White Matter Microstructural SymmetryJun Maruta0Jun Maruta1Jun Maruta2Jacob M. Mallott3Gary Sulioti4Gary Sulioti5Jamshid Ghajar6Jamshid Ghajar7Eva M. Palacios8Pratik Mukherjee9Pratik Mukherjee10Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Rehabilitation and Human Performance, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United StatesBrain Trauma Foundation, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United StatesDepartment Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United StatesDuke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United StatesBrain Trauma Foundation, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United StatesDepartment Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United StatesDepartment Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United StatesDepartment of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United StatesInjuries and illnesses can alter the normal bilateral symmetry of the brain, and determining the extent of this disruption may be useful in characterizing the pathology. One way of quantifying brain symmetry is in terms of bilateral correlation of diffusion tensor metrics between homologous white matter tracts. With this approach, we hypothesized that the brains of patients with a concussion are more asymmetrical than those of healthy individuals without a history of a concussion. We scanned the brains of 35 normal individuals and 15 emergency department patients with a recent concussion. Fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) were determined for regions of interest (ROI) defined by a standard white-matter atlas that included 21 bilateral ROIs. For each ROI pair, bilateral correlation coefficients were calculated and compared between the two subject groups. A symmetry index, defined as the ratio between the difference and the sum of bilateral measures, was also calculated for each ROI pair and compared between the groups. We found that in normal subjects, the extent of symmetry varied among regions and individuals, and at least subtle forms of structural lateralization were common across regions. In patients, higher asymmetry was found overall as well as in the corticospinal tract specifically. Results indicate that a concussion can manifest in brain asymmetry that deviates from a normal state. The clinical utility of characterizing post-concussion pathology as abnormal brain asymmetry merits further exploration.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2020.548220/fullacute concussionbilateral homologdiffusion tensor imaging (DTI)mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI)magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) |
| spellingShingle | Jun Maruta Jun Maruta Jun Maruta Jacob M. Mallott Gary Sulioti Gary Sulioti Jamshid Ghajar Jamshid Ghajar Eva M. Palacios Pratik Mukherjee Pratik Mukherjee Concussion Disrupts Normal Brain White Matter Microstructural Symmetry Frontiers in Neurology acute concussion bilateral homolog diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) |
| title | Concussion Disrupts Normal Brain White Matter Microstructural Symmetry |
| title_full | Concussion Disrupts Normal Brain White Matter Microstructural Symmetry |
| title_fullStr | Concussion Disrupts Normal Brain White Matter Microstructural Symmetry |
| title_full_unstemmed | Concussion Disrupts Normal Brain White Matter Microstructural Symmetry |
| title_short | Concussion Disrupts Normal Brain White Matter Microstructural Symmetry |
| title_sort | concussion disrupts normal brain white matter microstructural symmetry |
| topic | acute concussion bilateral homolog diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2020.548220/full |
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