Effects of different interventions on neuroplasticity, vascular coupling and functional connectivity in acquired brain injury patients: A systematic review

Douma, Michelle (2025) Effects of different interventions on neuroplasticity, vascular coupling and functional connectivity in acquired brain injury patients: A systematic review. Master thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

In this systematic review, the effects of interventions that target neuroplasticity in patients with acquired brain injury are analyzed. Acquired brain injury is an increasing important topic that impacts many individuals worldwide. A common long-term consequence of acquired brain injury are cognitive deficits, but there are no guidelines available that specifically target those deficits regardless of their impact on patients’ daily living. There are 9 articles included from PubMed, which involve the following interventions: cognitive rehabilitation therapy, light therapy, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), neuronal music therapy, and deep brain stimulation (DBS). All interventions concluded significant improvements on neuroplasticity, executive function, and behavior and indicate promising implementations for future interventions. This paper indicates underlying mechanisms of existing and tested interventions. These underlying mechanisms are: general activation of individuals through intervention (in cognitive rehabilitation therapy), targeting sleeping patterns (in light therapy), hyperconnectivity (in light therapy and neurological music therapy), and activation of the whole brain instead of focusing all recovery energy on one part of the brain (in cognitive rehabilitation therapy, rTMS, tDCS, and DBS). In conclusion, much needed future research recommendations are described.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master)
Supervisor name:	Jelsma, L.D. and Pijnenborg, G.H.M.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	Clinical Neuropsychology (CN) [Master Psychology]
Date Deposited:	10 Jul 2025 07:31
Last Modified:	10 Jul 2025 07:31
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5426

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