Repeated exposure to shock waves in the military duty line can leave lasting impressions in the brain and can affect its functionality, has discovered new research, even if the changes do not appear in standard brain scans.
Researchers at the Harvard Faculty of Medicine lead an investigation into the special operations forces of the United States to have a better idea of how the trauma of the bomb explosions can increase the risk of Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the long term.
Compared to healthy controls and those with low levels of explosion exposure, service members with high explosion exposure records showed notable differences in functional connectivity: how different regions of the brain communicate and work together.
These differences in functional connectivity appeared in conjunction with more serious symptoms in neuropsychological tests. The tests were configured to find problems previously linked A tbis in military personnel.
“We discovered that the members of the service with more exposure to the explosion had more serious symptoms, including memory problems, emotional difficulties and signs of post -traumatic stress disorder, and that their brains showed a weaker connectivity in the key areas.” says Andrea Diociasi neuroradiologist.
“In summary, repeated trauma seems to weaken the internal communication of the brain.”
The study analyzed 212 members of the service, both active and retired, who had a history of exposure to the repetitive explosion. They underwent a variety of brain images and psychological evaluations, adapted to evaluate the health of veterans.
In particular, researchers sought evidence of ‘invisible’ injuries that are not shown in normal Magnetic resonance images (MRI) scan. These types of brain impacts are often overlooked, which makes it difficult for researchers to coincide with physical alterations in the brain with mental health problems.
To detect these problems, MRI’s analysis was performed at a higher level of detail and combined with statistical models. The findings were so clear that the team used them to develop a predictive model that could detect a brain exposed to high explosion levels with a accuracy of 73 percent.
“We also noticed that certain regions of the brain were actually larger in more exposed individuals, which could reflect changes in long -term tissue such as scars,” says Diociasi.
“These are not injuries that you can always see with the naked eye, but they are real, and now we can start measuring them.”
Researchers are confident that the approaches used in their study apply to other causes of brain injuries, such as in contact sports or as a result of serious accidents at work.
The study also managed to provide a more complete map of how trauma leads to changes in brain connectivity, and from there to clinical symptoms, potentially opening routes to improve evaluations and treatments.
“The findings reveal that even when the brain looks normal, it could be carrying hidden trauma signs, and now we have tools to detect them.” says Diociasi.
“That opens the door for an earlier detection, a better treatment and a deeper understanding of how repeated trauma affects the brain over time.”
The investigation has been published in Radiology.
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