Traumatic Brain Injury (PDF)

Since the original publication of Traumatic Brain Injury: Methods for Clinical & Forensic Neuropsychiatric Assessment, enhanced clinical findings concerning traumatic brain injury have improved our ability to evaluate and treat individuals with TBI. Unfortunately, the dramatic rise in the occurrence of brain injuries over the same time period demands better proficiency in evaluation and treatment. In an effort to optimize forensic and medical examinations of the victims of traumatic brain injury, this volume provides additional research, practical guidelines, and the latest advances and applications in structural and functional imaging assessment techniques. With case studies and images from functional MRI, PET scans, and MR spectroscopy, the second edition places more emphasis on mild traumatic brain injury, including expanded information on sports injuries in children and athletes. It discusses the neuroanatomical and neuroimaging bases of cognitive domains of the brain and includes findings on the epidemiology and pathophysiology of brain injury, as well as acquired psychopathology following injury. It also investigates the physical effects and psychiatric ramifications of blast over-pressure as seen in combat veterans and civilians in Kosovo, Lebanon, and Iraq. Additional chapters emphasize forensic evaluation with discussions on the detection of brain-injury malingering, determination of impairment, methods of neurobehavioral analysis, and the presentation of evidence at trial.Providing practical guidelines for using state-of-the-art, brain-based assessment techniques, this volume establishes a neuropsychiatric schema for the evaluation of traumatic brain injury and provides tools for designing a treatment plan. The methods in this book can be used to evaluate and treat any neuropsychiatric disorder with the addition of appropriate laboratory studies and pathology specific treatment.