Author ORCID Identifier
0000-0003-4402-7849
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
8-31-2024
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering - (Ph.D.)
Department
Biomedical Engineering
First Advisor
Bharat Biswal
Second Advisor
Hai Sun
Third Advisor
Tara L. Alvarez
Fourth Advisor
Xiaobo Li
Fifth Advisor
Saikat Pal
Sixth Advisor
Xin Di
Seventh Advisor
Nancy D. Chiaravalloti
Abstract
Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) have a 13 times greater risk of cognitive impairment than able-bodied individuals and commonly report symptoms of depression and anxiety. The reports of cognitive impairment in individuals with SCI are independent of concomitant brain injury. Although the direct cause of cognitive impairment in individuals with SCI is unknown, key contributors may include comorbid depression, chronic pain, anxiety, fatigue, brain injury, or cardiovascular dysfunction. Previous studies have focused on SCI at the level of the spinal cord but have under-investigated the supraspinal levels. Due to the lack of neuroimaging studies on SCI rehabilitation, it is unclear how neurovascular activation and functional brain connectivity are altered in cognitive processing areas due to the injury.
The high costs of routine functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) coupled with highly rigid supine-positioning make fMRI infeasible for longitudinal monitoring during SCI rehabilitation. Therefore, it is critical to use a more accessible neuroimaging method such as functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to study the neurovascular correlates of cognition in individuals with SCI. The long-term goal of this project is to facilitate the development of effective rehabilitation treatments for individuals with SCI and to accurately monitor injury recovery. Decreased functional brain connectivity in the sensorimotor and prefrontal areas have been observed in individuals with SCI. Thus, it is hypothesized that corticospinal tract disruption after SCI will decrease neurovascular activation and functional brain connectivity in regions associated with cognitive processing. The central hypothesis is tested with three specific aims: Aim 1) to determine the task-induced neurovascular correlates of cognitive function in individuals with SCI, Aim 2) to investigate differences in the resting-state functional connectivity patterns of cognitive processing areas between individuals with SCI and able-bodied (AB) controls using fNIRS, and Aim 3) to investigate the differences in cerebrovascular reactivity between individuals with SCI and AB controls. This dissertation is one of the first to comprehensively investigate cognitive function in individuals with SCI using fNIRS and aids in the understanding of the neuropsychological consequences after SCI, which will progress the development of effective rehabilitation treatments.
Recommended Citation
Chen, Donna Yali, "Investigating the neurovascular correlates of cognitive function in individuals with spinal cord injury using functional near-infrared spectroscopy" (2024). Dissertations. 1770.
https://digitalcommons.njit.edu/dissertations/1770
