Resting Network Plasticity Following Brain Injury |
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| Authors: | Toru Nakamura Frank G. Hillary Bharat B. Biswal |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Radiology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, United States of America.; 2. Department of Psychology, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America.;Indiana University, United States of America |
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| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to examine neural network properties at separate time-points during recovery from traumatic brain injury (TBI) using graph theory. Whole-brain analyses of the topological properties of the fMRI signal were conducted in 6 participants at 3 months and 6 months following severe TBI. Results revealed alterations of network properties including a change in the degree distribution, reduced overall strength in connectivity, and increased “small-worldness” from 3 months to 6 months post injury. The findings here indicate that, during recovery from injury, the strength but not the number of network connections diminishes, so that over the course of recovery, the network begins to approximate what is observed in healthy adults. These are the first data examining functional connectivity in a disrupted neural system during recovery. |
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