Centrum Semiovale and Corpus Callosum Integrity in Relation ... : The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation (original) (raw)

Original Articles

Centrum Semiovale and Corpus Callosum Integrity in Relation to Information Processing Speed in Patients With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Kourtidou, Paraskevi MS; McCauley, Stephen R. PhD; Bigler, Erin D. PhD; Traipe, Elfrides MD; Wu, Trevor C. PhD; Chu, Zili D. PhD; Hunter, Jill V. MD; Li, Xiaoqi MS; Levin, Harvey S. PhD; Wilde, Elisabeth A. PhD

Editor(s): Caplan, Bruce PhD, ABPP; Bogner, Jennifer PhD, ABPP

Postgraduate Program of Clinical Neuropsychology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece (Ms Kourtidou); University of Texas Health Sciences Center (Ms Kourtidou); Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Alliance of Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas – Houston Medical School (Drs McCauley, Traipe, Wu, Levin, and Wilde and Ms Li); Departments of Radiology (Drs Traipe, Chu, Hunter, and Wilde), Neurology (Drs McCauley, Levin and Wilde), and Pediatrics (Drs McCauley and Levin), Baylor College of Medicine; Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Drs McCauley, Wilde and Levin); Department of Pediatric Radiology, Texas Children's Hospital (Drs Traipe, Chu, and Hunter), Houston, Texas; Departments of Psychology (Drs Bigler and Wu) and Neuroscience (Dr Bigler), Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah; and Department of Psychiatry and the Utah Brain Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City (Dr Bigler).

Corresponding Author: Elisabeth A. Wilde, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine, 1709 Dryden Rd, Ste 1200, Houston, TX 77030 ([email protected]).

Funding for this project was provided by a grant from the Dana Foundation (PI: Dr Wilde). The authors thank the organization committee of the clinical neuropsychology program of the Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Texas (A. C. Papanicolaou, D. Vassilopoulos, I. Evdokimidis, I. Zalonis, S. G. Papageorgiou, C. Potagas, and N. Smyrnis), for their financial assistance to author P.K. They also thank Jonathan Chia, Vipulkumar Patel, and Dr Ponnada Narayana for their assistance in the development and implementation of the magnetic resonance sequences and Joshua Cooper for his assistance in manuscript preparation.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Abstract

Objectives:

This study investigated white matter alterations in the corpus callosum (CC) and centrum semiovale (CSO), using diffusion tensor imaging and magnetization transfer imaging, in participants with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and related these changes to processing speed measures.

Participants and Methods:

Fourteen adult participants with severe TBI underwent neuroimaging and assessment, using the Symbol Digit Modalities Test and Trail-Making Test, Part B, at approximately 6 months postinjury. Thirteen demographically similar, neurologically intact adults were imaged for comparison.

Results:

The TBI group demonstrated lower fractional anisotropy (FA) for the right CSO and higher apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for the CSO bilaterally than the control group. Lower FA and higher ADC were noted in all CC regions. Magnetization transfer imaging revealed smaller magnetization transfer ratios (MTRs) in the right and left CSO and CC genu and splenium. Written Symbol Digit Modalities Test performance was related to right CSO FA, bilateral CSO ADC, CC FA, and right CSO MTR, whereas oral Symbol Digit Modalities Test was related to right CSO FA, ADC, and MTR. Trail-Making Test, Part B, was related to right CSO FA and MTR.

Conclusions:

Advanced neuroimaging modalities such as diffusion tensor imaging and magnetization transfer imaging demonstrate significant alterations in white matter, which are related to processing speed. These techniques may be useful in quantifying the extent of injury even in normal appearing white matter after TBI.