Grant: Project Grant

Concussion and brain injury are recognized as a major health issue for Canadians. This problem may be especially severe in pediatric populations where brain injury could have life long implications and since children are more likely than adults to have persistent symptoms. We need better tools to quantify concussion. We have data indicating that regional brain communication may be impaired in brain injury and that we can detect the injury with a portable brain imaging system based on light. This method, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) detects changes in hemoglobin oxygenation as a marker of brain activity. Regions with similar frequency oscillations are thought to be in communication with each other. These fluctuations can be quantified using an analysis called coherence. We have published data, and a new pilot study, showing that coherence is reduced between regions in patients with long term symptoms. This project will collect data on a cohort (75) of mTBI patients over 3 months and compare with controls as well as people with other injuries (to control for pain and other confounding factors). We will determine if measurements at an early point can be used to predict outcome. We will show how these data relate to specific types of cognitive and functional symptoms. We will expand our knowledge of whether damage to regional brain communication is a common problem. The group is the only one in the world with the pilot data, the team and the patient population needed for such a study. This study will provide definitive information on whether this fNIRS protocol could be used for concussion monitoring-in what could be a transformative study.