We aim to identify the connections in the human brain that are essential for recovery of consciousness in patients with severe traumatic brain injury.  Identification of these connections will allow clinicians to provide families with more accurate prognoses and will allow investigators to develop new therapies aimed to stimulating preserved connections or replacing/bypassing disrupted network connections.

The figure to the right shows a diffusion tractography analysis of the arcuate fasciculus in a patient with traumatic coma (A) and a healthy control subject (B).  Although there are fewer connections seen in the comatose patient, many connections are preserved, suggesting the possibility that this patient could recover language function or that this patient’s arcuate fasciculus could be a target for a therapeutic intervention aimed at promoting recovery of language.

Li J, Curley WH, Guerin B, Dougherty DD, Dalca AV, Fischl B, Horn A, Edlow BL. Mapping the subcortical connectivity of the human default mode network. NeuroImage. 2021;118758. PMCID PMC8945548. [PubMed] [PlumX]

McNab JA*, Edlow BL*, Witzel T, Huang SY, Bhat H, Heberlein K, Feiweier T, Liu K, Keil B, Cohen-Adad J, Tisdall MD, Folkerth RD, Kinney HC, Wald LL.  The human connectome project and beyond: Initial applications of 300 mT/m gradients.  NeuroImage. 2013;80:234-245. (*co-first authors) PMCID PMC3812060. [PubMed] [PlumX]

Edlow BL, Mareyam A, Horn A, Polimeni JR, Witzel T, Tisdall MD, Augustinack J, Stockmann JP, Diamond BR, Stevens A, Tirrell LS, Folkerth RD, Wald LL, Fischl B*, van der Kouwe A*.  7 Tesla MRI of the ex vivo human brain at 100 micron resolution. Scientific Data. 2019;6:244. (*co-senior authors). PMCID pending. [PubMed] [Altmetric - Scientific Data] [Altmetric - bioRxiv] [OpenNeuro] [Dryad Digital Repository] [Biolucida] [YouTube]

Edlow BL, Takahashi E, Wu O, Benner T, Dai G, Bu L, Grant PE, Greer DM, Greenberg SM, Kinney HC, Folkerth RD. Neuroanatomic connectivity of the human ascending arousal system critical to consciousness and its disorders. Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology. 2012;71:531-546.  PMCID PMC3387430. [PubMed] [Altmetric]

Edlow BL, Haynes RL, Takahashi E, Klein JP, Cummings P, Benner T, Greer DM, Greenberg SM, Wu O, Kinney HC*, Folkerth RD*. Disconnection of the ascending arousal system in traumatic coma. Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology. 2013;72:505-523. (*co-senior authors) PMCID PMC3761353. [PubMed] [Altmetric]

Edlow BL*, McNab JA*, Witzel T, Kinney HC. The structural connectome of the human central homeostatic network. Brain Connectivity. 2016;6:187-200. (*co-first authors) PMCID PMC4827322. [PubMed]