Mild traumatic brain injury: Causality considerations from a neuroimaging and neuropathology perspective

Abstract

"He was never quite 'himself' after that accident." In Sinson's (2001, p. 425) commentary about new neuroimaging methods for detecting subtle effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI), he offered the above statement about a patient with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and the potential long-term consequences of such an injury-that a lasting deficit may exist. There is little dispute about potential lasting effects resulting from moderate to severe TBI. Disagreement seems to center on mTBI, its existence and long-term sequelae. This chapter will review neuroimaging and neuropathology of mTBI from the perspective of causality.