Early steps towards collaborative research are underway between CONNECT and CAN-BIND at St. Michael’s Hospital
Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and concussions are the most prevalent brain injuries. About 20-40% of people experience depression after a concussion. People who experience depression and concussion often face a challenging recovery. It is unclear how the co-occurrence of concussion and depression affects behaviour. A recent report entitled, “Exploring the effect of concussion history on reward processing and anhedonia in depression,” has engaged two Ontario Brain Institute networks – Concussion Ontario Network (CONNECT) and Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression (CAN-BIND). This study took a novel approach to recruitment of patients who had experienced a concussion, by using the patient registry developed by CONNECT network. Early pilot work from the study suggests a difference in effort and reward learning behaviour in those with depression and a history of concussion compared to those with depression and no history of concussion. A larger study is underway, with the research team continuing to use the patient registry to identify participants who have experienced a concussion. The study will incorporate brain imaging and clinical assessments to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the interaction between concussion and depression. Researchers from both networks will review the study findings.
For more information about this work please contact, Amanda Ceniti at Amanda.Ceniti@unityhealth.to.
