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Neural efficiency among concussed and uninjured adolescents during an N-back task: a preliminary functional near-infrared spectroscopy study
Abstract

Neural efficiency among concussed and uninjured adolescents during an N-back task: a preliminary functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

Divya Jain, Catherine McDonald, Hasan Ayaz, Lei Wang, Christina Master and Kristy Arbogast
Injury Prevention, v 28(Issue Suppl 1), 083
01 Mar 2022

Abstract

Statement of Purpose Concussed adolescents frequently experience neurocognitive deficits even after symptom resolution. Measurement of cognitive deficits can be obtained using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a portable, non-invasive imaging technology that measures prefrontal cortical (PFC) activity. The goal of this exploratory study was to quantify differences in neural efficiency, a measure that combines PFC activity and behavioral performance, among concussed and uninjured adolescents during an N-back task, a standard assessment of working memory. Methods/Approach Concussed and uninjured adolescents completed an N-back task which requires participants to react when the current stimulus is the same as the n-th letter before the stimulus letter. There were four trials each of 0-, 1-, and 2-back conditions. Reaction times for each condition were captured, with increased reaction time indicating worse performance. Participants wore a continuous-wave fNIRS device positioned over the forehead to record PFC activity. Neural efficiency metrics were based on normalized reaction time and normalized PFC activity across participants. Linear mixed-effects models were used to examine the fixed effects of task condition (0-, 1-, or 2-back), injury status, and their interaction and random effect of subject on neural efficiency. Results Ten concussed adolescents (8 female, age(mean±sd):17.6±0.7 years, days since injury(mean±sd):19.2±9.4), and 16 uninjured controls (8 female, age(mean±sd):17.9±0.6 years) completed the N-back task. Task condition and the interaction of injury status and task condition were statistically significant. Concussed adolescents displayed significantly worse neural efficiency than uninjured controls only during the 2-back condition. Conclusion The association of injury status with decreased neural efficiency was limited to the most difficult condition (2-back), indicating that concussed adolescents were able to meet the task demands of the simpler conditions efficiently, but not the complex 2-back condition. Significance These findings support further study of more complex assessments of cognitive function post-concussion in adolescents.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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