Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with an estimated 69 million people acquiring a TBI each year. TBI is a spectrum, ranging from mild to severe. Mild injuries, or concussions, receive more media attention, however moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (msTBI) accounts for 1 in 5 injuries, and can leave the individual with long-lasting, debilitating symptoms such as migraines, memory impairment, and extreme fatigue. Living with msTBI can negatively impact all aspects of one's life, resulting in intersecting challenges such as unemployment, homelessness, substance use, and mental health struggles. Despite these long lasting challenges faced by msTBI survivors, accessible and effective interventions for reducing symptoms are lacking. Our lab studies a neurocognitive training tool that requires the repetitive use of cognitive functions such as memory, attention, and peripheral vision. Our work suggests that this tool can improve symptoms and cognitive performance following msTBI. In collaboration with our local brain injury society, we now aim to investigate potential biological changes that may be the underlying reason for improvements seen after use of this neurocognitive training tool. We will recruit 30 participants to undergo 10 sessions of cognitive training twice per week, and will look at functional, biological, and cognitive outcome measures before, after, and one-month following the intervention. We hope to gain a deeper understanding of recovery tools available to msTBI survivors and whether they can minimize the negative biological effects of TBI. If successful, this research has the potential to bridge existing therapeutic gaps, offering more recovery options for those navigating the complexities of msTBI.