Kurowski, BG; Treble-Barna, A; Zang, H; Zhang, N; Martin, LJ; Yeates, KO; Taylor, HG; Wade, SL. Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Genotypes and Parenting Influence on Long-Term Executive Functioning After Moderate to Severe Early Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 2017; 32(6):404-412.
The goal of this manuscript was to examine catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) rs4680 genotypes as moderators of the effects of parenting style on post injury changes in parent behavior ratings of executive dysfunction following moderate to severe early childhood traumatic brain injury. The findings provide preliminary evidence for associations of parenting style with executive dysfunction in children and for a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors as contributors to decreases in these problems after traumatic injuries in children. Further investigation is warranted to understand the interplay among genetic and environmental factors related to recovery after traumatic brain injury in children.
Yuan, W; Wade, SL; Quatman-Yates, C; Hugentobler, JA; Gubanich, PJ; Kurowski, BG. Structural Connectivity Related to Persistent Symptoms After Mild TBI in Adolescents and Response to Aerobic Training: Preliminary Investigation. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 2017; 32(6):378-384.
The objective of this paper was to quantify structural connectivity abnormalities in adolescents with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and to investigate connectivity changes following aerobic training using graph theory and diffusion tensor imaging tractography. This pilot study demonstrated initial evidence that structural connectivity analysis was sensitive to brain network abnormalities and may serve as an imaging biomarker in children with persistent symptoms after mTBI.
Durber, CM; Yeates, KO; Taylor, HG; Walz, NC; Stancin, T; Wade, SL. The Family Environment Predicts Long-Term Academic Achievement and Classroom Behavior Following Traumatic Brain Injury in Early Childhood. Neuropsychology. 2017; 31(5):499-507.
This study examined the association between the quality of the home environment and long-term academic achievement, behavioral and school functioning in a prospective cohort of 15 children with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), 39 with moderate TBI, and 70 with orthopedic injury (OI) injured from 3–7 years of age. During middle school, an average of 6.83 years following injury, children who experienced severe TBI performed worse on all achievement tests, parent ratings of academic performance, and teacher ratings of internalizing problems. Higher quality early and late home environments predicted stronger academic skills and better classroom behavior for children with both TBI and OI. Importantly, the effects of the environment differed as a function of the outcome with early family environment, assessed soon after injury, predicting academic achievement, while the later family environment, assessed at the middle school follow-up, predicting concurrent classroom functioning. These findings underscore the effects of early TBI on long-term academic success and behavior and highlight the role of high quality home environments in promoting better academic outcomes for children with either TBI or OI.
Wade, SL; Cassedy, AE; Shultz, EL; Zang, H; Zhang, N; Kirkwood, MW; Stancin, T; Yeates, KO; Taylor, HG. Randomized Clinical Trial of Online Parent Training for Behavior Problems After Early Brain Injury. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2017; 56(11):930-939.e2.
This randomized controlled trial, involving 113 survivors of early brain injury between the ages of 3 and 9, examined the efficacy of an abbreviated online parenting skills program, relative to a longer program providing training in parenting skills and psychoeducation regarding TBI, or a control condition offering access to online resources on TBI. Outcomes included improvements in parenting skills and reductions in behavior problems. Parents in both the abbreviated and longer parent-skills training groups displayed more warm and responsive parenting at follow-up, although only those in the longer intervention had lower levels of negative parenting behavior over time. Importantly, parents in the shorter treatment rated their children as having less intense behavior problems at follow-up than those in the control group. Taken together, findings suggest that brief online parent skills training can effectively decrease behavior problems after early TBI in children with existing behavioral symptoms and using it as part of standard rehabilitative care is something to consider.
Evanson, NK; Guilhaume-Correa, F; Herman, JP; Goodman, MD. Optic tract injury after closed head traumatic brain injury in mice: A model of indirect traumatic optic neuropathy. PloS One. 2018; 13(5).
This study investigated the pathology of closed head traumatic brain injury (TBI) using a weight drop approach in mice. Previous research has shown functional deficits in this model, in the absence of gross brain pathology or histologic injury using standard methods. This study was undertaken to evaluate for subtle tissue damage using more sensitive approaches, including Fluoro-Jade B and immunohistochemistry. We found evidence of neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, and gliosis selective to the optic tract and a subset of its direct projection targets. Using micro-computed tomography we further found that under a dorsal-ventral load to the skull, the optic canals decreased in diameter, suggesting that pinching of the optic nerve within the optic canal may be the mechanism for this injury. These results suggest that our weight drop model of traumatic head injury leads to indirect optic nerve injury, and thus represents a novel model for studying indirect traumatic optic neuropathy in the context of head trauma.