A one year longitudinal study of cortical myelination changes following pediatric mild traumatic brain injury

The impact of pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (pmTBI) on cortical (i.e., grey matter) myelination is not yet understood, especially for interactions with neurodevelopment. The current study examined the impact of pmTBI on cortical myelination relative to healthy controls (HC) by estimating myelin content using the T₁w/T₂w ratio method. Data were obtained from pmTBI (N = 217) participants at approximately 7 days (Visit 1 [V1]), 4 months (Visit 2 [V2]), and 1 year (Visit 3 [V3]) post-injury, with equivalent sampling points for age and sex-matched HC (N = 180). Clinical results suggested only partial recovery from post-concussive symptoms from V1 to V3, with similar incomplete recovery of sleep, functional outcomes, behavior, and long-term memory. Myelin content increased with chronological age and as a function of individual aging across study visits in a hemisphere specific fashion (left > right), most visibly within the posterior parietal lobe. Myelin content was also greater for females relative to males. There was evidence of both a reduction in myelination within the posterior parietal cortex for the pmTBI group at 4 months post-injury, as well as evidence of increased myelination within the left prefrontal cortex at one-year post-injury. However, neither of these findings survived various sensitivity analyses, suggesting that there were minimal effects of pmTBI on cortical myelin content in general. In summary, although rapid changes in myelin content existed as a function of neurodevelopment, there was little evidence to suggest that pmTBI permanently altered cortical myelin development trajectories.