Abnormal brain morphology and morphological brain network in adults with acute mild traumatic brain injury.

Background: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) commonly has long-term cognitive and functional consequences; however, it is not clear whether these adverse outcomes begin in the acute phase of mTBI and are associated with changes in brain morphology and function.

Methods: The current study used T1-weighted MRI to determine whether cortical thickness, gray matter volume (GMV), and morphological brain networks were altered in patients with mTBI within 7 days of injury, and to examine whether these changes were associated with postacute cognitive and emotional abnormalities. Adults aged 18-56 years with mTBI ( n  = 43) and healthy controls ( n  = 37) completed the cognitive, emotional evaluation, and MRI examination, during which patients with mTBI completed symptom reports.