Disequilibrium after Traumatic Brain Injury: Vestibular Mechanisms

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate mechanisms of disequilibrium and imbalance in veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom / Operation Iraqi Freedom who have experienced mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Chronic dizziness is a common symptom in these veterans and also in civilians after head injury, but the cause is not known. Our hypothesis is that damage to vestibular reflexes involving inner ear otolith organs (sensors of gravity and linear motion) and/or their brain connections are involved. To test this hypothesis, we are measuring vestibular and balance function in veterans with mTBI and comparing them to control subjects. In the first year of this study, we have set up our experimental protocols and have recruited and tested several subjects. Each of the two mTBI subjects that we have tested so far demonstrated otolith vestibulo-ocular reflexes that were lower than we have found in prior studies of normal subjects without vestibular problems. This finding is supportive of our hypothesis, but there are not yet sufficient data to make definitive conclusions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA514613

Entities

People

  • Mark Walker

Organizations

  • Case Western Reserve University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Afghanistan Conflict
  • Anatomy
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Research
  • Body Regions
  • Brain Injuries
  • Department Of Defense
  • Ear
  • Electronic Mail
  • Eye Movements
  • Head (Anatomy)
  • Head Injuries
  • Information Operations
  • International Organizations
  • Iraqi-War

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Gulf War Illness and Chronic Multisymptom Illness in Veterans.
  • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Cognitive Aging in the Guam and Border Populations Affected by Alzheimer's Disease and Tau-Associated Dementias.