Exploratory relationships between cognitive improvements and training induced plasticity in hippocampus and cingulum in
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Exploratory relationships between cognitive improvements and training induced plasticity in hippocampus and cingulum in a rat model of mild traumatic brain injury: a diffusion MRI study Kim Braeckman 1
&
Benedicte Descamps 1 & Christian Vanhove 1 & Karen Caeyenberghs 2
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of long-term cognitive deficits, even in mild TBI patients. Computerized cognitive training can help alleviate complaints and improve daily life functioning of TBI patients. However, the underlying biological mechanisms of cognitive training in TBI are not fully understood. In the present study, we utilised for the first time a touchscreen cognitive training system in a rat model of mild TBI. Moreover, we wanted to examine whether the beneficial effects of a cognitive training are task-dependent and selective in their target. Specifically, we examined the effect of two training tasks, i.e. the Paired Associate Learning (PAL) task targeting spatial memory functioning and 5-Choice Continuous Performance (5-CCP) task loading on attention and inhibition control, on the microstructural organization of the hippocampus and cingulum, respectively, using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Our findings revealed that the two training protocols induced similar effects on the diffusion MRI metrics. Further, in the TBI groups who received training microstructural organization in the hippocampus and cingulum improved (as denoted by increases in fractional anisotropy), while a worsening (i.e., increases in mean diffusivity and radial diffusivity) was found in the TBI control group. In addition, these alterations in diffusion MRI metrics coincided with improved performance on the training tasks in the TBI groups who received training. Our findings show the potential of DTI metrics as reliable measure to evaluate cognitive training in TBI patients and to facilitate future research investigating further improvement of cognitive training targeting deficits in spatial memory and attention. Keywords Mild traumatic brain injury . Diffusion MRI . Touchscreen cognitive training system . Neuroplasticity . Preclinical
Christian Vanhove and Karen Caeyenberghs are co-senior authors. * Kim Braeckman [email protected] Benedicte Descamps [email protected] Christian Vanhove [email protected] Karen Caeyenberghs [email protected] 1
Infinity Lab, Medical Imaging and Signal Processing Group-IBiTech, UGent, Blok B-5 (Ingang 36), Campus UZ Gent, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
2
Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, 470.5.02, Level 5, Building 470, 215 Spring Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
Introduction Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects millions of people worldwide every year and is mostly caused by road traffic accidents and falls (Korley et al. 2016; Peeters et al. 2015). Although the majority of TBI patients (between 70 and 90% of all cases) c
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