Publications by authors named "Megan E Huibregtse"

Black pregnant and postpartum individuals are at risk for intimate partner violence (IPV), and those with a history of childhood maltreatment and IPV are even more likely to be re-victimized during pregnancy. However, it is unknown if specific types of child maltreatment predict later IPV with and without a weapon better than others. The current study sought to (i) document the prevalence of childhood maltreatment and IPV and (ii) examine the relations among types of childhood maltreatment and later IPV with and without a weapon within a sample of Black individuals seeking prenatal care at a large public hospital in the southeastern United States.

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Objective: This study aimed to determine the relationship between stages of the menopause transition (premenopausal, perimenopausal, and postmenopausal) on symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in trauma-exposed women.

Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted between 2005 and 2017 recruited and enrolled an urban community sample (n = 6,093) from nonpsychiatric medical clinic waiting rooms of Grady Memorial Hospital, a public safety net hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Participants were female, 18 to 65 years old, and predominantly Black/African American.

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Introduction: Being choked/strangled during partnered sex is an emerging sexual behavior, particularly prevalent among young adult women. Using a multiparameter morphometric imaging approach, we aimed to characterize neuroanatomical differences between young adult women (18-30 years old) who were exposed to frequent sexual choking and their choking naïve controls.

Methods: This cross-sectional study consisted of two groups (choking [≥4 times in the past 30 days] vs.

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Being choked or strangled during partnered sex is an emerging sexual behavior, prevalent among young adult women. The goal of this study was to test whether, and to what extent, frequently being choked or strangled during sex is associated with cortical surface functioning and functional connectivity. This case-control study consisted of two groups (choking vs.

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Recent investigations have identified water polo athletes as at risk for concussions and repetitive subconcussive head impacts. Head impact exposure in collegiate varsity women's water polo, however, has not yet been longitudinally quantified. We aimed to determine the relationship between cumulative and acute head impact exposure across pre-season training and changes in serum biomarkers of brain injury.

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Being strangled, or "choked," by a sexual partner has emerged as a prevalent, often wanted and consensual sexual behavior among adolescent and young adult women, yet the neurological consequences of repeated exposure to this behavior are unknown. The objective of the study was to examine the association between a history of repeated, recent choking/strangling episodes during sex and fMRI activation during working memory tasks in young adult women. This case-control study involved young adult women (18-30 years old) at a large, public university, and consisted of two study groups: a choking group consisting of participants who were recently and frequently choked/strangled during sex by a partner (≥4 times in the past 30 days) and a choking-naïve (control) group who had never been choked/strangled during sex.

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While neuroimaging and blood biomarker have been two of the most active areas of research in the neurotrauma community, these fields rarely intersect to delineate subconcussive brain injury. The aim of the study was to examine the association between diffusion MRI techniques [diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation/dispersion density imaging (NODDI)] and brain-injury blood biomarker levels [tau, neurofilament-light (NfL), glial-fibrillary-acidic-protein (GFAP)] in high-school football players at their baseline, aiming to detect cumulative neuronal damage from prior seasons. Twenty-five football players were enrolled in the study.

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The purpose of this study was to test the effect of subconcussive head impacts on acute changes in plasma S100B. In this randomized controlled trial, 79 healthy adult soccer players were randomly assigned to either the heading (n = 41) or kicking-control groups (n = 38). The heading group executed 10 headers with soccer balls projected at a speed of 25 mph, whereas the kicking-control group performed 10 kicks.

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Objective: To examine changes in plasma levels of CCL11, CCL2, and IL-10 after 10 controlled soccer headers.

Setting: Laboratory setting.

Participants: Thirty-nine healthy soccer players with at least 3 years of soccer heading experience, between 18 and 26 years old, and enrolled at a large public university.

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Importance: Subconcussive head impacts have emerged as a complex public health concern. The oculomotor system is sensitive to brain trauma; however, neuro-ophthalmologic response to subconcussive head impacts remains unclear.

Objective: To examine whether subconcussive head impacts cause impairments in neuro-ophthalmologic function as measured by the King-Devick test (KDT) and oculomotor function as measured by the near point of convergence.

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Subconcussive head impacts (SHI), defined as impacts to the cranium that do not result in concussion symptoms, are gaining traction as a major public health concern. The contribution of physiological factors such as physical exertion and muscle damage to SHI-dependent changes in neurological measures remains unknown. A prospective longitudinal study examined the association between physiological factors and SHI kinematics in 15 high school American football players over one season.

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Aim: Students re-entering the academic setting after a concussion is commonly referred to as return-to-learn and, to date, very few studies have examined the return-to-learn aspect of concussion recovery.

Methodology: Nine college-aged, full-time students who were diagnosed with concussions were monitored throughout their concussion recovery. The severity for five chief symptoms (headache, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, anxiety) were recorded six-times per day through text messages, and daily phone calls recorded participant's behavioral traits.

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Subconcussive hits pose a threat to neuronal health as they have shown to induce neuronal structural damage and functional impairment without causing outward symptomology and appear to be a key contributor to an irreversible neurodegenerative disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). In addition, athletes can incur more than 1,000 of these hits per season. The subconcussive soccer heading model (SSHM) is a relevant, reproducible, and leading method of isolating and examining the effects of these subconcussive head impacts.

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Astrocyte-enriched marker, S100B, shows promise for gauging the severity of acute brain trauma, and understanding subconcussive effects will advance its utility in tracking real-time acute brain damage. The aim of the study was to investigate whether serum S100B elevations were associated with frequency and magnitude of subconcussive head impacts in adolescents. This prospective cohort study of 17 high-school football players consisted of the following 12 time points: pre-season baseline, 5 in-season pre-post games, and post-season.

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Importance: Repetitive subconcussive head impacts in sports have emerged as a complex public health issue. Most of these head impacts remain asymptomatic yet have the potential to cause insidious neurological deficit if sustained repetitively. Near point of convergence (NPC) values have shown to reflect subclinical neuronal damage; however, the longitudinal pattern of NPC changes in association with subconcussive head impacts remains unclear.

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The purpose of the study was to examine an association of repetitive subconcussive head impacts with changes in plasma neurofilament light (NF-L) levels following 10 bouts of controlled soccer heading. In this randomized control trial, 37 healthy adult soccer players were randomly assigned into either a heading (n = 19) or kicking-control group (n = 18). The heading group executed 10 headers with soccer balls projected at a velocity of 25 mph over 10 min.

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Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is thought to be caused by repetitive head impacts. Consequently, there is a need to develop rodent models to better understand the behavioral and pathophysiological changes of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (rmTBI) and to determine the link between rmTBI and CTE. This Neuro Forum article reviews recent rodent rmTBI models, comparing the impact methods and outcome measures in terms of translational potential.

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