RECRUITINGINTERVENTIONAL

Detection and Amelioration of Gamma Oscillation Abnormalities in Blast-Related Brain Injury

About This Trial

Combat Veterans of post-9/11 conflicts have experienced serious cognitive and emotional problems resulting from exposure to blasts. Recent work suggests that a critical factor influencing the consequences of blast exposure is distance from the blast, rather than the presence or absence of concussion symptoms. Exposure to blasts from a distance of \<10 m has been associated with significantly greater cognitive and neural problems than exposure to blasts from \>10 m. So far, the effects of blast-related brain injury on the brain are poorly understood, as to date the effects of blast exposure have received little research focus. The investigators propose to use oscillations in the gamma band (30-100 Hz) of the electroencephalogram (EEG; brain waves) to detect and remediate neural circuit dysfunction related to blast injury in Veterans. If successful, this project could lead to new approaches to detect and remediate the effects of blast exposure on Veterans and aid in their functional recovery.

Who May Be Eligible (Plain English)

Who May Qualify: - Research participants will be 50 veterans - Ages 18-65 years - Have experienced blast exposure - Recruited from the VA Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS) at the VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS) - Half of the participants will have experienced blast exposure from a Close distance (\<10 m) - Half of the participants will have experienced blast exposure from a Far distance (\>10 m) - These groups will be matched on age and female/male ratio Who Should NOT Join This Trial: Initial exclusion criteria for TRACTS are: - History of neurological illness - Huntington's - Parkinson's - dementia, etc - History of seizure disorders unrelated to head injury - Current diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar, or other psychotic disorder - Self-reported severe depression or anxiety requiring hospitalization overnight, or current active homicidal and/or suicidal ideation with intent requiring crisis intervention - Cognitive disorder due to general medical condition other than TBI - Unstable psychological diagnosis (suspected psychotic or personality disorder) that would interfere with accurate data collection, determined by consensus of at least three doctoral-level psychologists. Additional exclusion criteria for participants in the present project will be: - Current alcohol or drug dependence, or abuse within the last 6 months (DSM-IV criteria) - Hearing impairments as assessed by audiometry Always talk to your doctor about whether this trial is right for you.

Original Eligibility Criteria

View original clinical language

Inclusion Criteria: * Research participants will be 50 veterans * Ages 18-65 years * Have experienced blast exposure * Recruited from the VA Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS) at the VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS) * Half of the participants will have experienced blast exposure from a Close distance (\<10 m) * Half of the participants will have experienced blast exposure from a Far distance (\>10 m) * These groups will be matched on age and female/male ratio Exclusion Criteria: Initial exclusion criteria for TRACTS are: * History of neurological illness * Huntington's * Parkinson's * dementia, etc * History of seizure disorders unrelated to head injury * Current diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar, or other psychotic disorder * Self-reported severe depression or anxiety requiring hospitalization overnight, or current active homicidal and/or suicidal ideation with intent requiring crisis intervention * Cognitive disorder due to general medical condition other than TBI * Unstable psychological diagnosis (suspected psychotic or personality disorder) that would interfere with accurate data collection, determined by consensus of at least three doctoral-level psychologists. Additional exclusion criteria for participants in the present project will be: * Current alcohol or drug dependence, or abuse within the last 6 months (DSM-IV criteria) * Hearing impairments as assessed by audiometry

Treatments Being Tested

OTHER

Auditory gamma sensory stimulation

Gamma-conditioning stimulation will be administered in 2 blocks of 3 min each. During each block, participants will be presented with a continuous tone at the CF (500 or 1200 Hz) that will be amplitude modulated at 40 H

Locations (1)

VA Boston Healthcare System Jamaica Plain Campus, Jamaica Plain, MA

Boston, Massachusetts, United States