Measurements of dynamic deformation of the human brain, induced by external harmonic vibration of the skull, were analyzed to illuminate the mechanics of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Shear wave propagation velocity vector fields were obtained to illustrate the role of the skull and stiff internal membranes in transmitting motion to the brain. Relative motion between the cerebrum and cerebellum was quantified to assess the vulnerability of connecting structures. Mechanical deformation was quantified throughout the brain to investigate spatial patterns of strain and axonal stretch. Strain magnitude was generally attenuated as shear waves propagated into interior structures of the brain; this attenuation was greater at higher frequencies. Analysis of shear wave propagation direction indicates that the stiff membranes (falx and tentorium) greatly affect brain deformation during imposed skull motion as they serve as sites for both initiation and reflection of shear waves. Relative motion between the cerebellum and cerebrum was small in comparison with the overall motion of both structures, which suggests that such relative motion might play only a minor role in TBI mechanics. Strain magnitudes and the amount of axonal stretch near the bases of sulci were similar to those in other areas of the cortex, and local strain concentrations at the gray-white matter boundary were not observed. We tentatively conclude that observed differences in neuropathological response in these areas might be due to heterogeneity in the response to mechanical deformation rather than heterogeneity of the deformation itself.
Keywords: MR elastography; Traumatic brain injury; brain mechanics; brain-skull interface; chronic traumatic encephalopathy.