Dysfunction of cerebellum functional connectivity between default mode network and cerebellar structures in patients with mild traumatic brain injury in acute stage. rsfMRI study

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is the most common neurological damage in children that's why it is extremely important to identify and analyze biomarkers that can help in predicting patient's treatment and recovery in period of mTBI. Aim of this study is to verify a hypothesis that functional connectivity disturbances between intact cerebellum and DMN nodes are included in symptomatic manifestation of mTBI.

Methods. 28 MR negative patients with mTBI were studied in age from 12 to 17 years (mean age – 14.7 years). The control group consisted of 23 healthy children. All MRI studies wereperformed on a Philips AchievadStream 3.0 T scanner equipped with a 32-channelPhilips dStream head coil. A 4 min rsfMRI gradient-echo echo planar imaging (EPI)sequence was acquired (TR = 3000 ms, echo time (TE) = 30 ms, 80 dynamics withdynamic scan time = 3 s). fMRI data were processed using functional connectivitytoolbox CONN.

Results. No statistically significant differences in correlation strengths between control group and group of patients were detected as a result of DMN analysis. Intergroup seed-basedcorrelation ROI analysis revealed statistically significant (p < 0.05) differencein links between DMN regions and vermis (cerebellum): positive link in control group and negative link in groupof patients.

Conclusions. The revealed changes in DMN neuronal connection and cerebellar regions in acute stage of mTBI patients can be an initial step of damages leading to cognitive deficit which can be developed in future.

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