IALH Research Fellow Brian Christie and IALH Student Affiliates Taylor Snowden and Jamie Morrison have co-authored a new research article entitled Brain Changes: Aerobic Exercise for Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation. Collaborating authors include Meike Boerstra, Eric Eyolfson, Crystal Acosta, Erin Grafe, Hannah Reid, Justin Brand, Matthew Galati, and Judith Gargaro. The article was published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

Abstract:

Introduction: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) accounts for millions of hospitalizations and deaths worldwide. Aerobic exercise is an easily implementable, non-pharmacological intervention to treat TBI, however, there are no clear guidelines for how to best implement aerobic exercise treatment for TBI survivors across age and injury severity.

Methods: We conducted a PRISMA-ScR to examine research on exercise interventions following TBI in children, youth and adults, spanning mild to severe TBI. Three electronic databases (PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) were searched systematically by two authors, using keywords delineated from “Traumatic Brain Injury,” “Aerobic Exercise,” and “Intervention.”

Results: Of the 415 papers originally identified from the search terms, 54 papers met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. The papers were first grouped by participants’ injury severity, and subdivided based on age at intervention, and time since injury where appropriate.

Discussion: Aerobic exercise is a promising intervention for adolescent and adult TBI survivors, regardless of injury severity. However, research examining the benefits of post-injury aerobic exercise for children and older adults is lacking.

To read the full article, see https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1307507