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Brain activation measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging during the Tower of London task

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2014

Inge-Andre Rasmussen Jr ,
Ida Kristin Antonsen ,
Erik Magnus Berntsen ,
Jian Xu ,
Jim Lagopoulos  and
Asta Kristine Håberg
Inge-Andre Rasmussen Jr*
Affiliation:
Department of Circulation and Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Ida Kristin Antonsen
Affiliation:
Department of Circulation and Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Erik Magnus Berntsen
Affiliation:
Department of Circulation and Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Jian Xu
Affiliation:
Department of Circulation and Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Jim Lagopoulos
Affiliation:
School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia Neuroscience Research Group, Mood Disorders Unit, Black Dog Institute, Sydney, Australia Department of Neurology, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia
Asta Kristine Håberg
Affiliation:
Department of Circulation and Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
*
Dr Inge-Andre Rasmussen Jr, Department of Circulation and Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim 7006, Norway. Tel: +61 2 93822998; Fax: +61 2 96591033; E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Background:

Individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) often suffer from a number of enduring cognitive impairments such as in attention, memory, speed of processing information and dual-task performance.

Objective:

The aim of this study was to assess the patterns of regional brain activation in response to the Tower of London (ToL) task in a group of patients suffering from chronic TBI using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Methods:

fMRI was performed during performance of the ToL planning task in 10 patients suffering from severe TBI and in 10 age- and sex-matched controls using a 3 T magnetic resonance scanner.

Results:

Performance data showed no difference in response accuracy between the TBI group and the healthy control group. Statistical parametric brain maps showed that the TBI group activates larger and additional areas of the cerebral cortex than the healthy control group both for tasks and for a subtraction contrast between the tasks.

Conclusions:

The results of this study are interpreted as a cortical reorganization inside the executive system of vigilance and working memory in patients with TBI. Both parietal and frontal areas are recruited to compensate for damaged brain tissue.

Keywords

fMRITBITower of London
Type
Research Article
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 18 , Issue 5 , October 2006 , pp. 216 - 225
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 Blackwell Munksgaard

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