Objective To complete a systematic review of the literature examining neuroimaging findings unique to co-occurring syndromal depression in the setting of TBI. Methods A PRISMA compliant literature search was conducted in PubMed (MEDLINE), PsychINFO, EMBASE, and Scopus databases for articles published prior to April of 2022. The database query yielded 4447 unique articles. These articles were narrowed based on specific inclusion criteria (e.g., clear TBI definition, clear depression construct commenting on the syndrome of major depressive disorder, conducted empirical analyses comparing neuroimaging correlates in TBI subjects with depression versus TBI subjects without depression, controlled for the time interval between TBI occurrence and acquisition of neuroimaging). Results A final cohort of 10 articles resulted, comprising the findings from 423 civilians with brain injury, 129 of which developed post-TBI depression. Four articles studied mild TBI, three mild/moderate, one moderate/severe, and two all-comers, with nine articles focusing on single TBI and one including both single and recurrent injuries. Spatially convergent structural abnormalities in individuals with TBI and co-occurring syndromal depression were identified primarily in bilateral frontal regions, particularly in those with damage to the left frontal lobe and prefrontal cortices, as well as temporal regions including bilateral temporal lobes, the left superior temporal gyrus, and bilateral hippocampi. Various parietal regions and the nucleus accumbens were also implicated. EEG studies showed supporting evidence of functional changes in frontal regions. Conclusion Additional inquiry with attention to TBI without depression control groups, consistent TBI definitions, previous TBI, clinically diagnosed syndromal depression, imaging timing post-injury, acute prospective design, functional neuroimaging, and well-defined neuroanatomical regions of interest is crucial to extrapolating finer discrepancies between primary and TBI-related depression.

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Previous studies reported that adolescents with a sport-related concussion history showed prolonged visuomotor deficits during an eye-hand decoupling task until around 1.5-2 years post-event. The present study expands this work, examining whether such deficits do or do not emerge when testing individuals in young adulthood, i.e. later post-event. Twenty-one nonathlete college students with sport-related concussion history from adolescence (CH; M = 21 yrs.; M = 46 months post-concussion, range 10-90 months) and twenty controls with no history of concussion (NoH; M = 21 yrs.) performed two touchscreen-based visuomotor tasks. It included a coupled task where eyes and hand moved in similar directions, and decoupled-task with eyes and hand going to different directions. Movement planning (e.g. reaction time, initial direction error) and execution (e.g. movement time, path length) related variables were analyzed in both groups and conditions. Movement execution measures were similar for both groups and conditions (all p > 0.05). However, movement planning was impaired in the CH participants in the eye-hand decoupling condition (p < 0.05). CH's initial direction error was larger (i.e. worse spatial movement planning) than in the NoH group. Although movement execution deficits shown in earlier work in youth were not present in young adults, the present results suggest that a sport-related concussion sustained in adolescence can lead to prolonged deficits with spatial movement planning processes while performing eye-hand decoupling tasks about four years post-injury. Further research should investigate whether these deficits continue into adulthood and expand control on time since concussion and number of concussion metrics. Highlights. Young adult college students with a history of a sport-related concussion from adolescence, tested about four years post-incident, showed spatial movement preparation deficits during an eye-hand decoupling visuomotor task. . Eye-hand reversal decoupling errors also correlated with time since concussion in those with concussion history. . These prolonged eye-hand decoupling deficits may emerge with ongoing time post-event, as comparable deficits were absent in previous work where youth were tested sooner post-injury. . Our current findings point towards long-lasting performance impairments in young adult nonathletes after a sport-related concussion from adolescence.