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Journal of Public Health Policy and Planning | Volume 3
April 08-09, 2019 | Zurich, Switzerland
Health Care and Neuroscience
International Conference on
Neurovascular Coupling: A unifying theory for Post-Concussion Syndrome
treatment and functional Neuroimaging
Mark Allen
and
Alina Fong
Cognitive FX, USA
P
ost-concussion syndrome (PCS) occurs in a
significant percentage of concussion patients
and is defined as having a history of traumatic brain
injury with persistence of three or more symptoms.
Standard structural clinical neuroimaging studies
show no abnormal findings for the majority of
PCS patients as opposed to functional MRI, which
often reveals irregularities in the blood-oxygen
level dependent (BOLD) signal. This suggests that
dysregulation of neurovascular coupling (NVC),
which causes abnormal BOLD signals, plays a
significant role in PCS pathology. Compared to the
pathophysiologic mechanisms occurring in acute
concussion, the underlying neuropathophysiology
of chronic concussive sequelaeor PCS is less
understood, thoughbecomingclearerwithemerging
research. We present a treatment approach
grounded in the physiological theory presented
here called Enhanced Performance in Cognition
(EPIC), which has shown strong clinical success.
Dysregulation of neurovascular coupling (NVC),
along with disruptions in cerebrovascular reactivity
(CVR) and autonomic nervous system (ANS)
dysregulation are the targets of EPIC treatment.
Success of the approach tentatively supports the
hypothesis that these features figure prominently
in the neuropathophysiology of PCS. The aim is to
provide a theory of the underlying mechanisms of
PCS pathology and its treatment that is in accord
with the current corpus of research and explains
the recent therapeutic success seen in PCS patient
using the EPIC treatment. We propose a theory by
which NVC dysregulation is normalized through
focused, intense and repetitive neurocognitive
challenges during post-exercise cognitive boost and
the avoidance of intracerebral steal in the setting of
restored and re-regulated CVR and ANS.
e
:
rachel@cognitivefxusa.com