# Comprehensive White-matter Microstructure-informed Analytical Methods to Elucidate Neurobiological Mechanisms of Sports-related Concussion (SRC)

> **NIH NIH R01** · INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS · 2020 · $380,222

## Abstract

Project Abstract
Sports-related concussion (SRC), while often regarded as the mildest form of traumatic brain injury (TBI), is
nevertheless a significant public health issue. Based on the estimates by the Centers for Disease Control, 1.6
to 3.8 million SRCs occur annually among high school and collegiate athletes. Athletes sustaining acute
concussion have a wide spectrum of clinical signs and symptoms including psychological distress, cognitive
impairment, and somatic symptoms. In some cases, these symptoms persist, and people with mild TBI may
be at higher risk for neurodegenerative diseases, future TBI, and, in cases of repetitive injuries, chronic
traumatic encephalopathy. While standardized assessment tools are useful in the clinical management of
acute concussion, the underlying pathophysiology of SRC and the time course of physiological recovery after
injury remain unclear. There is an immediate need to address the heterogeneity in the long-term
consequences of SRC to facilitate concussion management. The proposed research aims to understand why
some concussed athletes have prolonged recovery time and, more importantly, how to detect such extreme
cases.
Diffuse axonal injury is generally believed to be the initial white matter neuropathology associated with mild
TBI. Nevertheless, this microscopic injury is more difficult to detect in human mild TBI. Modern diffusion MRI
techniques offer increased biological specificity for describing white-matter alterations. Therefore, the goal of
the proposed research is to determine whether these novel axonal metrics: (1) provide indirect evidence of
diffuse axonal injury in human SRC; (2) help to explain heterogeneity in individual recovery trajectories; and (3)
inform our understanding of the relationship between axonal injury in SRC and clinical manifestations of SRC.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9972203
- **Project number:** 1R01NS112303-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Jaroslaw Harezlak
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $380,222
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-04-15 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9972203

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9972203, Comprehensive White-matter Microstructure-informed Analytical Methods to Elucidate Neurobiological Mechanisms of Sports-related Concussion (SRC) (1R01NS112303-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9972203. Licensed CC0.

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