# Psychological Trauma, Head Injury and Genetics: Detecting Changes in Cognition and Functioning in a Longitudinal Study of Veterans

> **NIH VA IK1** · OLIN TEAGUE VETERANS CENTER · 2020 · —

## Abstract

Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan often face lengthy and frequent deployments, increasing
their risk for more severe psychological trauma (PT) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Cognition is strongly
associated with the ability to function in occupational and social roles, which are key aspects of Veterans’
rehabilitation. PT and TBI contribute to cognitive decline, with the greatest impact on those individuals
who have genetic predispositions and greater trauma exposures. To our knowledge, the impact of type or
amount of warzone trauma experienced by a Veteran on executive functioning and memory, two aspects
of cognitive functioning, or the interaction of these experiences with genes linked to neural plasticity and
risk for cognitive disorders has received relatively little attention.
 The objective of this Career Development Award (CDA-1) is to better understand how aspects of
combat trauma and genetics relate to changes in cognition and, thus, place Veterans at risk for long-term
impairment. The research aims of this study are to: 1) evaluate what aspects of trauma exposure
(e.g., PT, TBI) are associated with cognitive functioning; 2) examine associations between brain-derived
neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and apolipoprotein E (ApoE) to determine their direct effects on cognition and
whether genetic variation moderates associations with trauma exposure and cognition; and 3) integrate
trauma history, cognition, and genetic variation to descriptively characterize phenotypes of Veterans most
at risk for functional disability and poor quality of life over time (exploratory). Dr. Szabo will accomplish
these aims by performing secondary analysis of data from a longitudinal study of predictors of functional
disability among post-9/11 Veterans (I01RX000304; PI Meyer) conducted at the VISN 17 Center of
Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans. Veterans (n=308; 68% male; 62% Caucasian)
completed brief neuropsychological batteries assessing memory and executive functioning, a clinical
interview assessing TBI, self-report measures of PT, and provided saliva samples for genetic screening.
 This CDA-1 will provide support to advance Dr. Szabo’s goal of becoming an independent VA research
psychologist with innovative research examining how to improve quality of life and functioning following
trauma exposure. As a clinical psychology fellow with training in wet laboratory settings, this project is a
natural extension of Dr. Szabo’s prior work integrating psychological and biological factors to understand
trauma-related impairment. The research and training aims will allow Dr. Szabo to better assess how
trauma exposure places Veterans at risk for trajectories of long-term functional impairment. She will also
obtain training in genetics and gene-environmental interactions with the goal of incorporating genetics
into her current and future research inquiries. Dr. Szabo’s training plan includes hands-on, didactic, and
professional development trai...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10049199
- **Project number:** 5IK1RX003122-02
- **Recipient organization:** OLIN TEAGUE VETERANS CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Yvette Zoltana Szabo
- **Activity code:** IK1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-11-01 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10049199

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10049199, Psychological Trauma, Head Injury and Genetics: Detecting Changes in Cognition and Functioning in a Longitudinal Study of Veterans (5IK1RX003122-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10049199. Licensed CC0.

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