Abstract
Antisaccades are thought to involve higher level inputs from neural centers involved in rapid eye movement inhibition and control. Previous work has demonstrated that performance on the antisaccade task can help in the assessment of injury in acute and/or chronic mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). In this exploratory study, we performed cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons of rapid eye movement, followed by correlations of antisaccade performance with assessments of symptom burden, diffusion tensor imaging, and a neuropsychological test of response inhibition. Significant deficits in antisaccade median latency, F(2, 31) = 3.65, p = 0.04 and prosaccade error mean duration, F(2, 31) = 3.63, p = 0.04 were found between patient groups and controls: the former was correlated with loss of white matter integrity in the splenium of the corpus callosum in acute mTBI, rho = 0.90, p = 0.0005. Furthermore, increased antisaccade median latency was also correlated with poor performance on an executive functioning task, r2 = 0.439, p = 0.03, and greater symptom burden, r2 = 0.480, p = 0.02 in the acute mTBI patients. Our preliminary research suggests that the antisaccade task could be useful as a neurological marker for mTBI and concussion, but more work is required.
Highlights
Few objective assessment tools exist to aid the clinician in the assessment of mild traumatic brain injury and concussion from both an emergency standpoint and in clinic follow-up
We have reviewed several eye movements that may be useful for more severe disorders of consciousness inflicted by moderate to severe TBI [26], more information is needed to determine whether antisaccades are related to common assessment metrics in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), and this is a gap in the current literature
The median antisaccade latency at the first visit was significantly greater in the patient groups compared to controls, but we found no significant difference between acute mTBI and post-traumatic symptom (PTS) groups at the first visit
Summary
Few objective assessment tools exist to aid the clinician in the assessment of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and concussion from both an emergency standpoint and in clinic follow-up. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) findings after mTBI [4] have found that the frontal association white matter tracts, namely, the anterior corpus callosum, superior longitudinal fasciculus, anterior corona radiata, and uncinate fasciculus were common areas of white matter damage in mTBI. Croall et al conducted a longitudinal study in mild/moderate TBI patients who were scanned acutely and returned for a chronic assessment, correlating structural integrity with neuropsychological performance, and found significant changes in fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity in acute mTBI patients (on average 6 days post-mTBI) compared to controls in the ascending and posterior corpus callosum, respectively [7]. There does not seem to be any studies directly correlating a subset of executive functioning, namely interference control performance to FA/MD changes in both acute mTBI and persistent post-traumatic symptom (PTS) patients at the same time
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
