BrainBlog

From the June 2007 APA Monitor : A long road back With so many service members affected by traumatic brain injuries, neuropsychologists are ramping up diagnosis and treatment By Christopher Munsey Monitor staff Print version: page 34 Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been called the "signature injury" of the Iraq war. Most commonly, the injuries are caused by improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, the makeshift bombs insurgents frequently use to attack U.S. forces. Even if soldiers are not directly hit, the shockwaves of these explosions can violently shake their brains or send shrapnel into their helmets. The result is often an injury that's much like a boxer hit with a knock-out punch. Thanks to excellent medical care and advanced body armor, service members are surviving injuries that would have killed them in previous wars. But with that survival often comes brain damage, a decrease in cognitive abilities and a lessening of emotional self-regulation. Psychologists, par...