Significance of the Corpus Callosum and Inferior Fronto-Occipital Fasciculus in Recovery after Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the correlations between the consciousness state scores and the fractional anisotropy (FA) values in various segments of the Corpus Callosum (CC) and Inferior Fronto-Occipital Fasciculus (IFOF) at different stages of recovery after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was performed in 43 TBI patients and 22 healthy volunteers. The consciousness levels were estimated with the CRS-R scale. The tracts were divided into segments using a template based on tractograms of healthy volunteers, and the correlations between the CRS-R scores and the FA values were calculated for each tract segment. Results: In the acute period after TBI, 15 segments of the CC and IFOF demonstrated significant correlations (p<0.05). In the long-term period, the highest number (24) of correlations were found in the studied tracts segments. In the subacute period, only 3 segments with correlations were detected. Conclusions: We propose a new pipeline, which yields spatial localization of correlations between the fractional anisotropy values and the CRS-R scores in patients after TBI. It allows to make assumptions about the functioning of neural networks. Significance: This work provides new information concerning the organization of fiber tracts and neural networks in TBI patients and may improve neurorehabilitation approaches.