While ongoing research has suggested there are disabilities associated with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), few imaging studies have examined the impact of their co- morbidity in Operation Enduring Freedom-Operation Iraqi Freedom-Operation New Dawn (OEF-OIF-OND) Veterans. Ragsdale et al (2013) have reported both increased PTSD symptoms and functional impairments in a group of Veterans suffering from both mTBI and PTSD, relative to a group of Veterans with PTSD alone. Yet even less research is concerned with the recovery these Veterans experience from treatment. The overarching goal of the present study is to investigate the global functional, psychological, and neural network recovery of the OEF-OIF-OND Veterans with this co-morbidity. Specifically, we propose to investigate changes in OEF-OIF-OND Veterans with both PTSD and mTBI who participate in a meditation intervention designed for Veterans (Inner Resources for Veterans; IRV). First we propose that IRV will be associated with improvements in community integration and quality of life. Secondly, we propose that Veterans completing a course of IRV will experience improvements in PTSD and postconsussive, including depressive, symptoms. Finally, we seek to show that practicing IRV meditation will improve functional connectivity in OEF-OIF-OND Veterans with co-morbid mTBI and PTSD. We believe that this proposal will not only help us define the problems of Veterans with co-morbid mTBI and PTSD more clearly, but also shed light on their potential for recovery afforded by effective treatment.
Many Veterans are returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with the dual problem of recovering from the effects of traumatic experiences and the impact of blast exposure. These conditions have profound effects on social and interpersonal functioning. In this proposal we use functional connectivity neuroimaging to understand how a meditation intervention developed for Veterans improves community reintegration, reduces PTSD symptoms, and aids neural network recovery.
