Abstract
Despite increasing public awareness and a growing body of literature on the subject of concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury, an urgent need still exists for reliable diagnostic measures, clinical care guidelines, and effective treatments for the condition. Complexity and heterogeneity complicate research efforts and indicate the need for innovative approaches to synthesize current knowledge in order to improve clinical outcomes. Methods from the interdisciplinary field of systems science, including models of complex systems, have been increasingly applied to biomedical applications and show promise for generating insight for traumatic brain injury. The current study uses causal-loop diagramming to visualize relationships between factors influencing the pathophysiology and recovery trajectories of concussive injury, including persistence of symptoms and deficits. The primary output is a series of preliminary systems maps detailing feedback loops, intrinsic dynamics, exogenous drivers, and hubs across several scales, from micro-level cellular processes to social influences. Key system features, such as the role of specific restorative feedback processes and cross-scale connections, are examined and discussed in the context of recovery trajectories. This systems approach integrates research findings across disciplines and allows components to be considered in relation to larger system influences, which enables the identification of research gaps, supports classification efforts, and provides a framework for interdisciplinary collaboration and communication—all strides that would benefit diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment in the clinic.
Highlights
Concussion, known as mild traumatic brain injury,1 is a significant public health issue responsible for a variety of cognitive, emotional, and somatic symptoms and deficits [3]
Research is hindered by an inadequate classification system for traumatic brain injury (TBI) [12], “poor” study quality [13, 14], disagreement about appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria for concussion [8, 15], and an incomplete understanding of underlying pathophysiology [16,17,18]
This paper introduces key systems concepts to the TBI community and provides an opportunity to examine whether useful insight can be generated using a novel systems mapping approach
Summary
Concussion, known as mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a significant public health issue responsible for a variety of cognitive, emotional, and somatic symptoms and deficits [3]. It is unclear why some individuals appear to recover relatively quickly while others suffer prolonged symptoms and impairments [4,5,6,7]. Initial efforts to improve data agreement, such as the Common Data Elements and Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research, have made important strides toward interdisciplinarity, but are constrained by the lack of a shared explanatory model upon which to base a new system of classification [24]. A recent article published by researchers associated with the International Initiative for Traumatic Brain Injury Research [22] highlights the importance of “multidimensional approaches” and prognostic models for improving clinical outcomes
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: 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.