Hey, everyone! Back for Week 8, I see. As you know, my project was just casually minding its own business, when suddenly! We were no longer in Kansas anymore!! Yes, and there's my attempted humor, I hope that didn't make you cringe too much. Again, I am sorry to be making this change so late in the project, but I know (well I'm hoping) this is just as interesting. To put it simply, my topic has changed from gender-based differences in concussions to comparing structural brain changes between PTH patients and healthy controls. I'm trying out the new title that I came up with (a bit unoriginal maybe, but I tried my best).
So, PTH, or post-traumatic headache, is a primary headache disorder that develops within a week after a concussion. It is the only headache disorder to be caused by a physical injury to the head. The others I've actually discussed in previous posts are tension-type headache, migraine, trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (or cluster headache). The hypothesis for this study if that there would be structural brain changes in PTH patients when compared to healthy controls. Patients would come in, fill out questionnaires, then head over to radiology for an MRI scan. Radiologists will then take the MRI scans of both groups, and use cortical thickness, a tool for measuring the thickness of the cerebral cortex, to analyze for brain changes. A thicker cortex is the sign of a healthy brain. Below is a picture of how they use cortical thickness.
During this week, I mainly worked on revising my proposal and beginning to make a plan for my final product. I haven't quite finished editing my proposal, so maybe don't check that out just yet. I'll have it finished by next week if you would like to check it out then. What I've got going right now for my final product is a scientific post of this study. Dr. Chong showed me some examples of the posters in Mayo, and I thought it would be cool if I could do the same thing. I think of it as a more formal version of those bio labs we would do with the intro, methodology, results, etc. Here are some pictures of the posters at Mayo to give you a better idea (I don't think I could make mine as professional as those, but I'll do my best).
Anyways, that was my week! I hope I didn't overwhelm you with too much info. As always, comment below with your lovely questions, and I'll be seeing you all soon for Week 9!! :)
I really like your new hypothesis! I did not know that a sign for a healthy brain was correlated with the length of the cerebral cortex! That is super cool! It is totally okay if you do not know, but why is it that true? Why is length of the cerebral cortex indicative of the health of the brain? Just curious! Awesome post & pictures! I am looking forward to see your conclusion to your new hypothesis!!! :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it, Lorena, I like it, too! So actually it's not the length of the cerebral cortex rather it's how thick it is, but I see how it's a bit confusing. Maybe think of it like this...the cerebral cortex is a cover (maybe plastic wrap, but probably stronger) around your brain. Because it acts as a protective layer separating your brain and the outside world (excluding your skull), you would want it to be pretty strong, right? That's how I like to think of it as. I hope that helped!
DeleteHi Kiri! I can't wait to see your final product! What differences in cerebral cortex size have you seen so far during your project?
ReplyDeleteHey, Rachel! Unfortunately, I don't have any exact measurements, though I'm sure the program tells you it somewhere in the code. I think they measure it more qualitatively anyway. Meaning, that on the image, the spots of bright colors on the brain tells us where the cerebral cortex is thinning. The lighter the color, the more thin the cerebral cortex is in that area. Thanks for your question!
DeleteHi Kiri! Are there any other causes for a post traumatic headache other than a concussion?
ReplyDeleteGood question, Nikita! I wouldn't think so, since PTH usually follows after some kind of injury to the head. I'd imagine you can't get PTH from breaking your leg. ;D Any knock to the head (a concussion) puts you at risk of developing PTH, so Life Lesson: always wear a helmet! :P
DeleteI like the new title so far. Was there any particular reason you are changing the focus of your SRP? Good luck with the rewrites!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Serena, I "tried" to be funny but at the same time professional (meaning, I had to restrain myself from being cringe worthy punny xD). Yeah, the reason I had to change my project was because I didn't realize the study that I wanted to focus on (the "Sex Specific Profiles of White Matter...") had actually only just started enrolling participants. Basically, I wouldn't have been able to really do anything with it or answer my research question. It was a bit disappointing, but at least Dr. Chong was able to help me change my question without it being too stressful (mostly). Hope your Week 9 is going well!
DeleteNice posters! What format will your final product be in? Can't wait for next week!
ReplyDeleteHey, Reyna! I'm not really sure what you mean by format, but what I'm hoping to be able to pull off is making a poster similar to the ones I took pictures of at Mayo that I mentioned in this post. Mind you, it definitely won't be as good, but I'll try my best. Wish me luck! :D
DeleteHey Kiri! I really like the posters. Your new hypothesis is great. Sorry you have to rework some stuff. Good luck!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, everything at Mayo is pretty awesome, Grayson! I'm pretty excited that I'm almost done revising my proposal AND I was able to update my title and abstract before the SP Committee started printing the programs. Now, it's just the presentation and the Final Product that are still a work in progress. I'm also glad you like my new hypothesis! :)
DeleteHey Kiri! Sorry you had to change your project so late in the game. I hope this one does some justice. Good luck and can't wait until next week.
ReplyDeleteIt'll all work out, Isabella, I'm positive that this change will make my project just as exciting. Thanks for the encouragement and your continued support! :D
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