Brain Function Disruption of Thalamus Related Low Frequency Resting State Networks in Patients with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Lin Tang¹, Yulin Ge¹, Daniel K. Sodickson¹, Laura Miles¹, Joseph Reaume¹, Robert I. Grossman¹

A consistent and symmetric pattern of thalamic resting state functional networks (RSNs) is described for better understanding of thalamocortical pathways and neurocognitive function. Thalamic RSNs are disrupted in patients with MTBI, indicating there is compensatory upregulation of neural connectivity associated with subtle thalamic injury that appears to be related to the performance in neurocognitive testing, suggesting RS-fMRI can be used as an additional imaging modality for detection of abnormalities and for elucidating the pathophysiology behind persistent postconcussive syndrome.