Hippocampal and rostral anterior cingulate blood flow is associated with affective symptoms in chronic traumatic brain injury

•Hippocampal, anterior cingulate blood flow is associated with chronic TBI symptoms.•Blood flow was negatively associated with symptoms of fatigue, anxiety, depression, sleep issues.•Regional cerebral blood flow deficit was observed in the group with chronic TBI.•Cerebral blood flow was assessed with pseudo-continuous Arterial Spin Labeling MRI. The purpose of this study was to assess cerebral blood flow (CBF) and its association with self-reported symptoms in chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI). Sixteen participants with mild to severe TBI and persistent self-reported neurological symptoms, 6 to 72 months post-injury were included. For comparison, 16 age- and gender-matched healthy normal control participants were also included. Regional CBF and brain volume were assessed using pseudo-continuous Arterial Spin Labeling (PCASL) and T1-weighted data respectively. Cognitive function and self-reported symptoms were assessed in TBI participants using the national institutes of health (NIH) Toolbox Cognition Battery and Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System respectively. Associations between CBF and cognitive function, symptoms were assessed. Global CBF and regional brain volumes were similar between groups, but region of interest (ROI) analysis revealed lower CBF bilaterally in the thalamus, hippocampus, left caudate, and left amygdala in the TBI group. Voxel-wise analysis revealed that CBF in the hippocampus, parahippocampus, rostral anterior cingulate, inferior frontal gyrus, and other temporal regions were negatively associated with self-reported anger, anxiety, and depression symptoms. Furthermore, region of interest (ROI) analysis revealed that hippocampal and rostral anterior cingulate CBF were negatively associated with symptoms of fatigue, anxiety, depression, and sleep issues. Regional CBF deficit was observed in the group with chronic TBI compared to the normal control (NC) group despite similar volume of cerebral structures. The observed negative correlation between regional CBF and affective symptoms suggests that CBF-targeted intervention may potentially improve affective symptoms and quality of life after TBI, which needs to be assessed in future studies.