Department of Biomedical Engineering
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Browsing Department of Biomedical Engineering by Author "Buckley, Thomas A."
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Item Altered brain functional connectivity in the frontoparietal network following an ice hockey season(European Journal of Sport Science, 2022-05-08) DiFabio, Melissa S.; Smith, Daniel R.; Breedlove, Katherine M.; Pohlig, Ryan T.; Buckley, Thomas A.; Johnson, Curtis L.Sustaining sports-related head impacts has been reported to result in neurological changes that potentially lead to later-life neurological disease. Advanced neuroimaging techniques have been used to detect subtle neurological effects resulting from head impacts, even after a single competitive season. The current study used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess changes in functional connectivity of the frontoparietal network, a brain network responsible for executive functioning, in collegiate club ice hockey players over one season. Each player was scanned before and after the season and wore accelerometers to measure head impacts at practices and home games throughout the season. We examined pre- to post-season differences in connectivity within the frontoparietal and default mode networks, as well as the relationship between the total number of head impacts sustained and changes in connectivity. We found a significant interaction between network region of interest and time point (p = .016), in which connectivity between the left and right posterior parietal cortex seed regions increased over the season (p < .01). Number of impacts had a significant effect on frontoparietal network connectivity, such that more impacts were related to greater connectivity differences over the season (p = .042). Overall, functional connectivity increased in ice hockey athletes over a season between regions involved in executive functioning, and sensory integration, in particular. Furthermore, those who sustained more impacts had the greatest changes in connectivity. Consistent with prior findings in resting-state sports-related head impact literature, these findings have been suggested to represent brain injury. Highlights: Functional connectivity of the frontoparietal network significantly increased between the pre- and post-season, which may be a compensatory mechanism driven by neural tissue injury caused by repetitive head impacts. Changes in frontoparietal network connectivity are related to head impact exposure, measured as the number of head impacts sustained in a single season. Functional connectivity of the default mode network did not change over an ice hockey season.Item Relationships between aggression, sensation seeking, brain stiffness, and head impact exposure: Implications for head impact prevention in ice hockey(Brain and Behavior, 2022-04-23) DiFabio, Melissa S.; Smith, Daniel R.; Breedlove, Katherine M.; Buckley, Thomas A.; Johnson, Curtis L.Objectives: The objectives of this study were to (1) examine the relationship between the number of head impacts sustained in a season of men's collegiate club ice hockey and behavioral traits of aggression and sensation seeking, and (2) explore the neural correlates of these behaviors using neuroimaging. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Participants (n = 18) completed baseline surveys to quantify self-reported aggression and sensation-seeking tendencies. Aggression related to playing style was quantified through penalty minutes accrued during a season. Participants wore head impact sensors throughout a season to quantify the number of head impacts sustained. Participants (n = 15) also completed baseline anatomical and magnetic elastography neuroimaging scans to measure brain volumetric and viscoelastic properties. Pearson correlation analyses were performed to examine relationships between (1) impacts, aggression, and sensation seeking, and (2) impacts, aggression, and sensation seeking and brain volume, stiffness, and damping ratio, as an exploratory analysis. Results: Number of head impacts sustained was significantly related to the number of penalty minutes accrued, normalized to number of games played (r = .62, p < .01). Our secondary, exploratory analysis revealed that number of impacts, sensation seeking, and aggression were related to stiffness or damping ratio of the thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, and frontal cortex, but not volume. Conclusions: A more aggressive playing style was related to an increased number of head impacts sustained, which may provide evidence for future studies of head impact prevention. Further, magnetic resonance elastography may aid to monitor behavior or head impact exposure. Researchers should continue to examine this relationship and consider targeting behavioral modification programs of aggression to decrease head impact exposure in ice hockey.