Alteration in Functional Brain Systems After Electrical Injury

Abstract

Neuropsychological studies in electrical injury patients have reported deficits in attention, learning, and working memory, but the neural substrates of these deficits remain poorly characterized. In this study we sought to examine whether electrical injury subjects demonstrate abnormal patterns of brain activation during working memory and procedural learning tasks. Fourteen electrical injury subjects and fifteen demographically matched healthy control subjects performed a spatial working memory paradigm and a procedural learning paradigm during functional MRI studies. For the spatial working memory task, electrical injury patients exhibited significantly greater activation in the middle frontal gyrus and motor and posterior cingulate cortices. Increased activation in EI subjects also was observed on a visually-guided saccade task in several sensorimotor regions, including the frontal and parietal eye fields and striatum. On the procedural learning task, electrical injury patients exhibited significantly less activation in the middle frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate cortex, and frontal eye fields than controls. This is the first study to document task-dependent, system-level cortical and subcortical dysfunction in individuals who had experienced an electrical shock trauma.

Psychiatric Diagnoses After Hospitalization With Work-Related Burn Injuries in Washington State

“…Electrical burns are also of interest because they are often work-related-other studies of electrical burns had very high proportions of work-related burns, often more than 90%. 9,20 The nature of electrical burn injury is such that it has unique neurological sequelae, 9,33 including cognitive changes (such as "attentional interference, mental processing speed, current full scale intelligence quotient (IQ), and motor skills"), 19 other unique rehabilitation concerns, 34 increased incidence of psychiatric diagnosis after electrical injury more than burn survivors or survivors of traumatic brain injury, 35 and worse outcomes than nonelectrical burns, especially in terms of PTSD. 15 One possible explanation for the higher proportion of psychiatric sequelae postelectrical burn could be due to electrical injuries serving as "a rather unique one-trial aversive conditioning paradigm" as described by Mancusi-Ungaro et al, 15 who also note that the reminders of the trauma (such as electrical appliances and outlets) would be everywhere and could therefore result in "more intrusive images and resulting in negative affects (eg, depression)."…”

“…32 Recurrent depressive psychosis, moderate 296. 33 Recurrent depressive psychosis, severe, without mention of psychotic behavior 296. 34 Recurrent depressive psychosis, specified as with psychotic behavior 296.…”

Tasing the Constitution: Conducted Electrical Weapons, Other Forceful Arrest Means, and the Validity of Subsequent Constitutional Rights Waivers

“…389 Brain imaging research suggests that "EI is associated with changes in brain function at a network level in neural substrates involved in cognition." 390 With regard to clinical confirmation of emotional complaints, a study in which seventy-three EI patients received psychiatric evaluation found that forty-two, or 58%, warranted psychiatric diagnoses, predominantly of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or both. 391 In another study in which eighty-six EI patients referred themselves for psychiatric evaluation, sixty-seven, or 78%, warranted psychiatric 2020] TASING THE CONSTITUTION 967 diagnoses, also of depression, PTSD, or both.…”

Perioperative Research into Memory (PRiMe): Cognitive impairment following a severe burn injury and critical care admission, part 1

“…Cognitive deficits stemming from a wide range of medical conditions are known to have a significant impact on QoL [19][20][21][22][23][24]. It has been recognised after electrical injury, however there is limited research into ICU LTCI following severe general burns [25][26][27][28] and a dearth of research into any effect this may have on QoL.…”