Markin undergrad examines how concussion alters information processing in the adolescent brain

Concussion affects thousands of children and adolescents every year. One out of six children suffers a concussion before age 10. While most children recover, between 10 and 30 per cent have persistent symptoms and it is unknown why. Currently, we do not know enough about concussions to diagnose or treat them effectively.

Micaela Mauthner, third-year Faculty of Science student and Markin Undergraduate Student Research Program (USRP) in Health and Wellness studentship recipient, wants to change that.

Mauthner’s research journey began in 2017 when she reached out to Ashley Harris, PhD, after learning about of Harris’s spectroscopy research. Harris is an assistant professor in the Department of Radiology at the Cumming School of Medicine and a member of the Child and Adolescent Imaging Research Program at the Alberta Children’s Hospital.

Using her biomedical engineering background, Harris develops magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy methods for clinical and neuroscience research. She applies this neuroimaging to understand brain neurochemistry, function and structure in both healthy brain and clinical conditions. Mauthner worked under Harris's mentorship during the summer of 2017 to examine the long-term (two years post) effects of concussion using noninvasive spectroscopy neuroimaging. This project hooked Mauthner and ignited a hunger to continue researching concussion.

“Once I finished my first research project on concussion, I knew I wanted to stick with it and continue researching concussion because I find it very interesting. It is an extremely heterogeneous condition that we still have so much more to learn about. With so many kids suffering concussions each year, I think this is an avenue of research whose results have the potential to benefit many children,” says Mauthner.

Mauthner earned the opportunity to continue her research on concussion through a Markin Undergraduate Student Research Program (USRP) fall/winter studentship. Mauthner is currently wrapping up her investigation of how information processing in the brain is altered following concussion in adolescents.

Adolescence is a critical stage for neurophysiological development and a time where brain development has an increased susceptibility to the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury. Mauthner’s project uses a combination of magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure concentrations of the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA, in the brain, and tactile testing as a behavioural metric of sensory information processing. Mauthner and Harris hope that investigating the relationship between tactile performance and GABA levels in the somatosensory cortex will reveal new insights into altered cortical processing post-concussion and that this project will assist in developing prognostic indicators for concussion recovery.

Undergraduate research offers students numerous opportunities. Mauthner believes that a research experience during undergrad is extremely beneficial for many reasons including applying classroom knowledge to scholarly inquiry and discovering new career possibilities.

“Markin USRP is a network of like-minded individuals. So far, I have felt a tremendous amount of support, both through the connections I have made and the monetary component of the award, that allows me to choose research as a job option during my degree. I would highly recommend Markin USRP to undergraduates interested in getting involved with research, as my experiences this year have been incredible!”

Mauthner will present her research at the Markin USRP Student Research Mini-Symposium on April 6. The Markin USRP invites the university community to the Rozsa Centre for this campus-wide celebration of undergraduate research. The mini-symposium will feature the work of the 14 undergraduate students who received a fall/winter 2017-2018 Markin USRP studentship.

Ashley Harris is an assistant professor in the Department of Radiology at the Cumming School of Medicine, a member of the Child and Adolescent Imaging Research Program at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, and a member of the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute and Hotchkiss Brain Institute.