Paula L Corradini and Michael A Persinger
Background: Differentiation of patients who have sustained a mild TBI and who show continued difficulties with adaptation is a major clinical challenge and a time-consuming process when classical neuropsychological testing is involved. LORETA (Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography) was employed to discern its sensitivity for differentiating the regions of the cerebrum for patients who exhibited continued difficulties with adaptation and showed either no or formal neuropsychological impairment years after the injury. Methods: The quantitative electroencephalographic data for total of 14 patients who had sustained a mild TBI and who either displayed moderately-severe neuropsychological impairment (n=7) or did not (n=7) according to the results of a standardized battery were analyzed by s_LORETA software. The centroid Talairach (X,Y,Z) components for each major frequency band that were significantly different between the two populations were computed. Results: Averaged s_LORETAs demonstrated that the group of patients who displayed formal moderate-severe neuropsychological impairments more than five years after the injury displayed differential power values compared to the group of patients who also sustained a TBI but exhibited no formal impairment within regions that were consistent with the residual subjective symptoms. The s_LORETA analyses, including data collection, required less than 1 hr. Conclusion: A 30 minute sample of QEEG data when applied to s_LORETA software can reveal the general regions of the cerebrum that remain anomalous for years after the initial injury. Employment of this technology could be more efficient and provide greater precision for the strategic interventions that could facilitate the patients’ adaptation.