Symptom Exacerbation Following Mental Imagery in Patients With Persistent Post-Concussive Symptoms

Study Procedure

Phase 1 - Recruitment A sample will be drawn from the hospital's computerized database based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Phase 2 - Patient Enrollment Potential patients will be contacted by phone and given an extensive overview of the study. They will be invited to participate in the study, and will have to arive to Reuth Rehabilitation Hospital in Tel Aviv in order to sign an informed cosent form in front of a physician that will give them an additional explanation about the study and will answer all their questions and conserns. Current patients of Reut Rehabilitation Hospital will be invited to attend research sessions during their regular treatment days. Patients who have been discharged from the hospital will be invited to participate in research sessions at their convenience, with the option to schedule the first session shortly after signing the informed consent form.

Phase 3 - Medical Record Data Collection Data extraction from patients' medical records, including demographic information, injury date and mechanism, physical and cognitive consequences, additional symptoms, imaging findings, medical history, medication use, previous treatments, and social, psychological, or psychiatric status.

Phase 4 - Clinical Assessments Assessment Session 1

• Cognitive screening test: In accordance with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirement, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) will be administered to provide a gross screening of cognitive status and to confirm eligibility for informed consent and study participation. Participants scoring <20 points will be excluded.
• Completion of self-reported questionnaires, including demographic information, symptoms and triggers, concussion symptomatology, dizziness-related disability, headache impact, catastrophizing, PTSD levels, anxiety, depression, negative affectivity and somatization.
• Vestibular and oculomotor assessment, including the Video Head-Impulse Test (vHIT) to rule out central and peripheral vestibular pathology, conducted by a certified vestibular physiotherapist.

Assessment Session 2

• Completion of the vestibular assessment and questionnaires (if not completed in Session 1).
• Symptom provocation test using mental imagery in a randomized order:

• Movement mental imagery: Randomized sequence of 2 provocative movements and 2 neutral movements for each symptom (headache and/or dizziness).
• Scenario mental imagery: Randomized sequence of 2 provocative scenarios and 2 neutral scenarios for each symptom (headache and/or dizziness).

Assessment Session 3

• Completion of pending assessments.

Phase 5 - Study Completion

Inclusion criteria

• Current patients of Reut Rehabilitation Hospital or individuals who were discharged from the hospital within the past 12 months.
• Diagnosis of mild Traumatic Brain Injury, concussion, blast injury, or cervical whiplash injury.
• More than 3 months since the event.
• Presence of headaches and/or dizziness that began after the injury and have persisted continuously or intermittently.
• Exclusion of other potential causes of headaches, such as non-healed fractures, chronic inflammation/infection, increased intracranial pressure, or meningeal injury.
• Headache intensity of at least 3/10 on the VAS scale.

Exclusion criteria

• Significant cognitive impairment preventing informed consent (Mini-Mental State Examination score <20 or Montreal Cognitive Assessment score <20, as per IRB requirements).
• Diagnosed central neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, stroke, or brain tumor.
• Presence of known pyramidal or extrapyramidal neurological signs.
• Significant language impairment interfering with communication.
• Psychiatric disorders significantly affecting communication.
• Use of vestibular-suppressant medication (e.g., Cinnarizine) with an inability or unwillingness to discontinue treatment 24 hours prior to testing.

Withdrawal Criteria:

• Oculomotor dysfunction affecting multiple oculomotor functions.