# Neural correlates of working memory performance in mild traumatic brain injury

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2020 · $39,282

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) has been identified as the signature wound of the Iraq and Afghanistan
wars.18 MTBI is often associated with chronic cognitive complaints, which have been inconsistently linked to
deficits in working memory. Assessments of cognitive complaints and working memory deficits in veterans
following combat-related mTBI present numerous challenges because the veteran population represents a
cohort with relatively unique characteristics such as mechanism of injury (e.g., blast)19-21 and combat-related
psychiatric co-morbidity (i.e., post-traumatic stress disorder; PTSD).19, 22, 23 Functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI) provides the opportunity to elucidate neural correlates of working memory performance in mTBI.
Directly relating neural activation to behavioral performance provides important context to abnormal neural
responses in brain-injured individuals. Modern uses of neuroimaging, such as task-based functional
connectivity analyses, permit the investigation of complex cognitive processes (i.e., working memory) by
examining interactions of distributed brain regions during task performance. Studies examining the functional
connectivity of brain regions during working memory tasks in mTBI are limited, and to our knowledge, no study
has examined working memory task-based neural connectivity in veterans with or without mTBI. The current
proposal therefore seeks to use advanced, non-invasive, fMRI methods to: (1) investigate whether mTBI
veterans exhibit poorer working memory performance than veteran controls; (2) examine brain activation and
functional connectivity in mTBI veterans compared to veteran controls; (3) evaluate the association between
brain activation, functional connectivity, and working memory performance in mTBI veterans and veteran
Controls; and (4) explore the moderation of clinical injury characteristics on the relationship between neural
activation or functional connectivity and working memory performance in mTBI veterans. Findings of this
proposal will enhance our understanding of clinical characteristics and brain connectivity patterns associated
with poor cognitive outcomes following mTBI. Furthermore, understanding the neural correlates of working
memory deficits in veterans with mTBI could help provide targets for intervention strategies to help improve
cognitive outcomes and quality of life in veterans who have sustained head trauma.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9927901
- **Project number:** 5F31NS108573-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Kelsey A. Holiday
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $39,282
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2021-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9927901

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9927901, Neural correlates of working memory performance in mild traumatic brain injury (5F31NS108573-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9927901. Licensed CC0.

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