Concussion research at QBI
Australia has a strong sporting culture. We love our sport. We watch our kids grow up playing it on the weekends, and our professional athletes are household names. The nature of contact sports means that head knocks are sometimes unavoidable. But changing the fundamental rules of these sports isn’t the only way to make them safer.
Through research, we can improve the diagnosis and management of concussive episodes. Finding a suitable biomarker to test for concussion will enable rapid diagnosis and reduce the risk of repeated head injury. And imaging technology is helping us understand how concussion affects the brain.
Longitudinal studies to track brain changes have never been undertaken before, and are the missing piece of the concussion puzzle. They are critical to understanding the lasting consequences of head injury, and will enable us to intervene early and prevent or reduce lasting damage. Through research, we can begin to tackle some of concussion’s unanswered questions. Find out more about QBI's concussion study:
QBI concussion research team
Dr Fatima Nasrallah, MAIC Senior Research Fellow, uses the full spectrum of imaging technologies to advance our understanding of what is going on inside the brain after a concussion. Dr Nasrallah uses fMRI and other imaging techniques to study what happens to the brain in the immediate aftermath of a concussion, as well as in the following weeks and months. Her work hopes to study brain changes and the effects of different treatments and interventions to reduce long-term damage from concussion.
Specifically, she has been examining brain networks – different patterns of activity associated with different brain functions. Certain networks in the brain are engaged during different activities, and Dr Nasrallah’s research has shown that the ‘default mode’ network is disrupted by concussion injuries.
Professor David Reutens, Director of the Centre for Advanced Imaging at The University of Queensland, uses MRI diffusion imaging to reveal some of the subtle damage of concussion. Following a concussion, disruptions or damage to the white matter of the brain may affect connectivity and impair brain function. Neurons – brain cells – normally fire together in coordinated networks, but instead become out of sync.
Associate Professor Terry Coyne is a neurosurgeon with specialist skills in brain and spinal injuries. He has a particular interest in concussion and is a member of Australian Athletes’ Alliance Concussion Advisory Board and the AFL Concussion Advisory Board.
