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Long-Term Effects of Low-Level Blast Exposure and High-Caliber Weapons Use in Military Special Operators

Chronic low-level blast exposure has been linked with neurological alterations and traumatic brain injury (TBI) biomarkers. Impaired smooth-pursuit eye movements (SPEM) are often associated with TBI. The purpose of this study was to determine whether long-term operators of low-level blast exposure o...

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Autores principales: Hunfalvay, Melissa, Murray, Nicholas P., Creel, William T., Carrick, Frederick R.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9140026/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35625065
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12050679
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author Hunfalvay, Melissa
Murray, Nicholas P.
Creel, William T.
Carrick, Frederick R.
author_facet Hunfalvay, Melissa
Murray, Nicholas P.
Creel, William T.
Carrick, Frederick R.
author_sort Hunfalvay, Melissa
collection PubMed
description Chronic low-level blast exposure has been linked with neurological alterations and traumatic brain injury (TBI) biomarkers. Impaired smooth-pursuit eye movements (SPEM) are often associated with TBI. The purpose of this study was to determine whether long-term operators of low-level blast exposure or high-caliber weapons use displayed oculomotor behaviors that differed from controls. Twenty-six members of an elite military unit performed a computerized oculomotor testing task using an eye tracker and completed a concussion assessment questionnaire. The participants were split into a blast exposure group and control group. The blast exposure group had a history of exposure to low-level blasts or high-caliber weapon use. The results revealed significant differences in SPEM, saccades, and fixations between the blast exposure group and control group. The blast exposure group’s eye movements were slower, stopped at more frequent points when following a target, traveled further from the target in terms of both speed and direction, and showed higher rates of variation and inefficiency. Poor oculomotor behavior correlated with a higher symptom severity on the concussion assessment questionnaire. Military special operators exposed to long-term low-level blasts or high-caliber weapons usage displayed an impaired oculomotor behavior in comparison to controls. These findings further our understanding of the impact of long-term low-level blast exposure on the oculomotor behavior of military special operators and may inform practical implications for military training.
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spelling pubmed-91400262022-05-28 Long-Term Effects of Low-Level Blast Exposure and High-Caliber Weapons Use in Military Special Operators Hunfalvay, Melissa Murray, Nicholas P. Creel, William T. Carrick, Frederick R. Brain Sci Article Chronic low-level blast exposure has been linked with neurological alterations and traumatic brain injury (TBI) biomarkers. Impaired smooth-pursuit eye movements (SPEM) are often associated with TBI. The purpose of this study was to determine whether long-term operators of low-level blast exposure or high-caliber weapons use displayed oculomotor behaviors that differed from controls. Twenty-six members of an elite military unit performed a computerized oculomotor testing task using an eye tracker and completed a concussion assessment questionnaire. The participants were split into a blast exposure group and control group. The blast exposure group had a history of exposure to low-level blasts or high-caliber weapon use. The results revealed significant differences in SPEM, saccades, and fixations between the blast exposure group and control group. The blast exposure group’s eye movements were slower, stopped at more frequent points when following a target, traveled further from the target in terms of both speed and direction, and showed higher rates of variation and inefficiency. Poor oculomotor behavior correlated with a higher symptom severity on the concussion assessment questionnaire. Military special operators exposed to long-term low-level blasts or high-caliber weapons usage displayed an impaired oculomotor behavior in comparison to controls. These findings further our understanding of the impact of long-term low-level blast exposure on the oculomotor behavior of military special operators and may inform practical implications for military training. MDPI 2022-05-23 /pmc/articles/PMC9140026/ /pubmed/35625065 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12050679 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Hunfalvay, Melissa
Murray, Nicholas P.
Creel, William T.
Carrick, Frederick R.
Long-Term Effects of Low-Level Blast Exposure and High-Caliber Weapons Use in Military Special Operators
title Long-Term Effects of Low-Level Blast Exposure and High-Caliber Weapons Use in Military Special Operators
title_full Long-Term Effects of Low-Level Blast Exposure and High-Caliber Weapons Use in Military Special Operators
title_fullStr Long-Term Effects of Low-Level Blast Exposure and High-Caliber Weapons Use in Military Special Operators
title_full_unstemmed Long-Term Effects of Low-Level Blast Exposure and High-Caliber Weapons Use in Military Special Operators
title_short Long-Term Effects of Low-Level Blast Exposure and High-Caliber Weapons Use in Military Special Operators
title_sort long-term effects of low-level blast exposure and high-caliber weapons use in military special operators
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9140026/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35625065
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12050679
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