Concussion is a major health concern, making it critical to identify factors that influence risk and resilience. The salience network (SN) likely plays a key role in concussion risk, given its roles in orienting attention, functional adaptability, and interoceptive awareness. The SN's functions are thought to be mediated through causal control of other networks, including the default mode network (DMN) and executive control network (ECN). It was therefore hypothesized that the SN of at-risk individuals would have altered functional and structural connectivity with the DMN and ECN. For this prospective study, 167 university athletes had baseline clinical assessments and magnetic resonance imaging scans and were monitored for the rest of their varsity career, with any concussions recorded. Athletes concussed in the same season as imaging (CSS; n = 17) and those concussed in later seasons (CLS; n = 15) were matched to controls that were not concussed after imaging. Functional connectivity and white matter fractional anisotropy (FA) were compared between concussed and control groups. Prior to injury, CSS athletes had significantly elevated total symptom severity scores, elevated SN-DMN functional connectivity and reduced FA of connecting white matter tracts, whereas CLS athletes showed no significant clinical or imaging effects. These findings provide new insights into the neurobiology of concussion risk and resilience, as indices of SN-DMN network connectivity are associated with short-term but not long-term concussion risk.

中文翻译：

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脑震荡风险和恢复力：与受伤前显着性网络连接的关系

脑震荡是一个主要的健康问题，因此确定影响风险和复原力的因素至关重要。鉴于其在引导注意力、功能适应性和内感受意识方面的作用，显着性网络 (SN) 可能在脑震荡风险中起关键作用。SN 的功能被认为是通过对其他网络的因果控制来调节的，包括默认模式网络 (DMN) 和执行控制网络 (ECN)。因此假设高危个体的 SN 会改变与 DMN 和 ECN 的功能和结构连接。在这项前瞻性研究中，167 名大学运动员进行了基线临床评估和磁共振成像扫描，并在他们余下的大学生涯中进行了监测，并记录了任何脑震荡。运动员在与成像相同的季节脑震荡（CSS；n  = 17) 和后期脑震荡者 (CLS; n  = 15) 与成像后未脑震荡的对照组相匹配。比较了脑震荡组和对照组之间的功能连接性和白质分数各向异性 (FA)。受伤前，CSS 运动员的总症状严重程度评分显着升高，SN-DMN 功能连接性升高，连接白质束的 FA 降低，而 CLS 运动员没有显示出显着的临床或影像学影响。这些发现为脑震荡风险和恢复力的神经生物学提供了新的见解，因为 SN-DMN 网络连接性指标与短期但与长期脑震荡风险无关。