Symposium

Attention Restoration in Mild TBI +/- PTSD: Personalized Training and Functionally Targeted Neuromodulation 9601

Corresponding Presenter(s)

• 

  Theresa L. Bender Pape, Dr.PH

  Clinical Neuroscientist
  Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
  Chicago, Illinois, United States

Presenter(s)

• 

  Sherri L. Livengood, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Auditory Neuroscientist and Senior Imaging Analyst
  Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
  Goodyear, AZ, United States
• 

  Ana Durand-Sanchez, MD (she/her/hers)

  Medical Director
  Moody Neurorehabilitation Institute
  Houston, TX, United States

Non-Presenting Contributor(s)

• 

  Catherine Kestner, DPT (she/her/hers)

  Clinical Research Manager
  Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
  Chicago, Illinois, United States
• 

  Miriam Rafferty, DPT, PhD, BA

  irector of Implementation Science and a Research Scientist
  Shirley Ryan AbilityLab 355 E Erie St Chicago, IL 60611
  Chicago, Illinois, United States

Our symposium presents groundbreaking findings from a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial aimed at improving attention in individuals with mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We reveal heterogeneous dysfunctions in attention networks in mTBI+PTSD patients, correlating with attentional impairments. To offer tailored strategies to support lasting recovery of attentional skills, we explore how neuroplasticity principles were leveraged to develop the combinatorial treatment of intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (iTBS) with attention processing training (APT). We demonstrate, for example, how personalized iTBS and targeted APT exercises, administered during optimal neuroplasticity windows, can enable lasting attentional recovery amid heterogeneous brain abnormalities. Additionally, we introduce a method being developed to enable customized mTBI+PTSD iTBS targets. We discuss clinical implications, including diagnosis and rehabilitation planning, and address obstacles to clinical integration. Our symposium invites discussion on treatment personalization, impact of changes in brain connectivity on recovery, iTBS targeting, and practical implementation issues.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Explain the utilization of personalized iTBS and targeted APT exercises to leverage neuroplasticity principles for restoring attention skills.
• 2. Describe the implications of heterogeneous dysfunction of the functional connectivity of attention networks in mTBI+PTSD patients, in the context of developing neuromodulatory treatments to enable recovery of attention skills.
• 3. Assess barriers to integrating iTBS+APT interventions clinically, emphasizing the need to overcome these obstacles for effective neurorehabilitation of attention deficits.
• 1. Explain the utilization of personalized iTBS and targeted APT exercises to leverage neuroplasticity principles for restoring attention skills.