# Establishing Relationships and Developing a Therapeutic Target for Impulsivity and Suicidality Among Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury and Co-occurring Conditions

> **NIH VA IK1** · EDWARD HINES JR VA HOSPITAL · 2020 · —

## Abstract

This Career Development Award level 1 (CDA1) has two aims. First, the candidate will examine the
relationship between impulsivity and suicidality among Veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) across a
broad range of severities. This is important because impulsivity, which is exhibited in up to 40% of individuals
with TBI, has been identified as an independent risk factor for completing suicide among those without a
history of TBI. Since impulsivity is a major risk factor for making a suicide attempt, the candidate will examine
the relationship between impulsivity and suicidality in a dataset compiled from existing psychological and
neuropsychological testing data collected for [200] Veterans with TBI from mild to severe. She will also
complete chart reviews on these patients to supplement the collected data. Veterans who participated in the
original studies had common co-occurring psychiatric conditions. This will allow the candidate to explore how
TBI and psychiatric conditions interact and influence impulsivity and suicidality. The candidate’s second aim is
to utilize existing neuroimaging data to identify specific brain areas implicated in impulsivity and suicidality
among those with TBI. The candidate will use volumetric and resting state functional connectivity MRI images
to accomplish the second aim. Completing these aims are the candidate’s short-term goals.
This research is critical as suicide is a major issue among Veterans within the VA system. Veterans are 22%
more likely to die by suicide than civilians. Veterans with TBI are even more likely to die by suicide than those
without TBI. It is important to characterize the link between impulsivity and suicidality to create possible
treatments for suicidality. Further, identifying a neural correlate of these behavioral problems will help to
develop biologic targets. Presently, there are no proposed biologic treatments to manage TBI related
impulsivity in Veterans to prevent suicide. Understanding the relationship between TBI impulsivity and
suicidality will help to identify key behavioral targets and the underlying neural correlates. This project will help
the candidate and her team to create a neuroanatomically informed treatment strategy.
Ultimately, the candidate’s long-term career goal is to become an independent clinical researcher in the VA
system with expertise in TBI and suicidality. She hopes to leverage this expertise to create novel treatments.
As such, she will complete a careful training plan under the mentorship of a strong, multidisciplinary training
team involving ample meetings with experts in fields relating to the above research, hands-on training in
research skills and coursework complementary to the research.
The planned research is innovative, as it explores novel proposed mechanisms underlying suicidality within the
Veteran population. It is significant, as it may lead to a new, effective treatment for suicidality in Veterans with
TBI. The impact of this project i...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9951864
- **Project number:** 1IK1RX003082-01A2
- **Recipient organization:** EDWARD HINES JR VA HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Alexandra Leigh Aaronson
- **Activity code:** IK1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-03-01 → 2022-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9951864

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9951864, Establishing Relationships and Developing a Therapeutic Target for Impulsivity and Suicidality Among Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury and Co-occurring Conditions (1IK1RX003082-01A2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9951864. Licensed CC0.

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