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Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Detect Chronic Fatigue in Patients With Previous Traumatic Brain Injury: Changes Linked to Altered Striato-Thalamic-Cortical Functioning

2017; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 33; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1097/htr.0000000000000340

1550-509X

Nils Berginström, Peter Nordström, Urban Ekman, Johan Eriksson, Micael Andersson, Lars Nyberg, Anna Nordström,

Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation

To investigate whether functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can be used to detect fatigue after traumatic brain injury (TBI).Neurorehabilitation clinic.Patients with TBI (n = 57) and self-experienced fatigue more than 1 year postinjury, and age- and gender-matched healthy controls (n = 27).Self-assessment scales of fatigue, a neuropsychological test battery, and fMRI scanning during performance of a fatiguing 27-minute attention task.During testing within the fMRI scanner, patients showed a higher increase in self-reported fatigue than controls from before to after completing the task (P < .001). The patients also showed lower activity in several regions, including bilateral caudate, thalamus, and anterior insula (all P < .05). Furthermore, the patients failed to display decreased activation over time in regions of interest: the bilateral caudate and anterior thalamus (all P < .01). Left caudate activity correctly identified 91% of patients and 81% of controls, resulting in a positive predictive value of 91%.The results suggest that chronic fatigue after TBI is associated with altered striato-thalamic-cortical functioning. It would be of interest to study whether fMRI can be used to support the diagnosis of chronic fatigue in future studies.