Patterns of Cortical Thinning in Relation to Event-Based Prospective Memory Performance Three Months after Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in Children

While event-based prospective memory (EB-PM) tasks are a familiar part of daily life for children, currently no data exists concerning the relation between EB-PM performance and brain volumetrics after traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study investigated EB-PM in children (7 to 17 years) with moderate to severe TBI or orthopedic injuries. Participants performed an EB-PM task and concurrently underwent neuroimaging at three months postinjury. Surface reconstruction and cortical thickness analysis were performed using FreeSurfer software. Cortical thickness was significantly correlated with EB-PM (adjusting for age). Significant thinning in the left (dorsolateral and inferior prefrontal cortex, anterior and posterior cingulate, temporal lobe, fusiform, and parahippocampal gyri), and right hemispheres (dorsolateral, inferior, and medial prefrontal cortex, cingulate, and temporal lobe) correlated positively and significantly with EB-PM performance; findings are comparable to those of functional neuroimaging and lesion studies of EB-PM.