# Neurocircuitry of Prospective Memory in Veterans with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

> **NIH VA IK2** · VA SAN DIEGO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM · 2020 · —

## Abstract

Rates of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are high among combat veterans, with reports suggesting
10-20% of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans meet diagnostic criteria for mTBI, the vast majority of which being
related to explosive blasts. There is on-going debate as to whether blast-related mTBI may result in long-term
neuropsychological impairment, given the paucity of positive findings, despite on-going complaints of cognitive
difficulties within this cohort. One possible explanation for this discrepancy is that traditional
neuropsychological test procedures may lack sensitivity in capturing subtle deficits in everyday functioning in
blast-related mTBI. Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to execute an action at a certain point
in the future, or is the fulfillment of delayed intentions. PM may be more sensitive to the functional difficulties
described by some Veterans with mTBI (e.g., forgetting appointments) than those domains typically assessed
(e.g., executive functions, attention and retrospective memory). Results of functional neuroimaging studies
suggest that PM is dependent on a frontally-guided cortical network comprised of the anterior prefrontal cortex,
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate and parietal cortex. Neurostructural damage to the white
matter pathways that integrate this network presents a possible underlying mechanism for PM disruption in
mTBI. To date, few studies have investigated the effect of mTBI on PM, and no published studies have
investigated the neurocircuitry of PM in OEF/OIF Veterans with a history of blast-related mTBI. The proposed
study aims to utilize neuropsychological assessment and an integrated multi-modal neuroimaging analysis to
study prospective memory (PM) functioning in Veterans with histories of blast-related mTBI. Eighty participants
will be recruited from within an existing VA-funded TBI research study and will include Veterans with a history
of blast-related mTBI (n = 40) or deployed Veterans without a history of mTBI (n = 40). Participants will
complete a broad neurocognitive assessment which includes PM questionnaires and objective measures of
PM. Veterans will also undergo an MRI scan which includes diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and completion of a
PM fMRI task. The study aims are to investigate PM performance in Veterans with histories of blast-related
mTBI, investigate the neural network associated with PM functions via integration of fMRI and DTI modalities
and determine whether this network is disrupted for Veterans with mTBI.
The candidate is a current VA postdoctoral fellow studying mTBI and neuroimaging research, has trained in the
neuropsychological assessment of mTBI, has demonstrated a capacity to learn neuroimaging research
methods across multiple imaging modalities and has collaborated with the proposed mentorship team on
several prior grant applications and manuscripts related to neuroimaging and cognitive functions following TBI.
Successful complet...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9814108
- **Project number:** 5IK2CX001508-04
- **Recipient organization:** VA SAN DIEGO HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** Scott Francis Sorg
- **Activity code:** IK2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-10-01 → 2021-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9814108

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9814108, Neurocircuitry of Prospective Memory in Veterans with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (5IK2CX001508-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9814108. Licensed CC0.

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