Dr. Charles T Leonard Motor Control Laboratory, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA.
Neural Injury Center, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA.
Sci Rep. 2018 Mar 15;8(1):4583. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-22825-5.
Understanding the long-term effects of concussive events remains a challenge for the development of modern medical practices and the prevention of recurrent traumas. In this study, we utilized indices of oculomotor performance and the ability to react to simple environmental stimuli to assess the long-term motor effects of traumatic brain injury in its mildest form (mTBI). We performed analysis of eye movement accuracy, investigated the presence of abnormal eye movements, and quantified time to react to simple environmental stimuli on long-term mTBI survivors. Results indicated the presence of impairments to basic neural functions used to explore and respond to environmental demands long after the occurrence of mTBIs. Specifically, the result revealed the presence of abnormal saccadic eye movements while performing horizontal smooth pursuit, diminished accuracy of primary saccadic horizontal eye movement, and a widespread slower reaction to both visual and auditory stimuli. The methodology used in this study indicated to be potentially useful in aiding future investigations of neural circuitry impaired by mTBI and provide indices of recovery in future clinical trials testing mTBI-related clinical interventions.
了解震荡事件的长期影响仍然是现代医学实践发展和反复创伤预防的挑战。在这项研究中，我们利用眼球运动表现和对简单环境刺激做出反应的能力的指标来评估轻度创伤性脑损伤（mTBI）的长期运动影响。我们对眼球运动准确性进行了分析，研究了异常眼球运动的存在，并量化了对长期 mTBI 幸存者对简单环境刺激做出反应的时间。结果表明，在 mTBI 发生后很长一段时间内，用于探索和响应环境需求的基本神经功能都存在损伤。具体而言，结果显示在进行水平平滑追踪时存在异常的扫视眼动，主要扫视水平眼球运动的准确性降低，以及对视觉和听觉刺激的反应普遍较慢。本研究中使用的方法表明，它在辅助未来对 mTBI 损伤的神经回路的研究方面具有潜在的作用，并为未来临床试验中测试 mTBI 相关临床干预的恢复提供指标。
