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Brain Injury Definitions
Traumatic Brain Injury
On February 22, 1986, the Brain Injury Association (then National Head
Injury Foundation) adopted the following definition of traumatic brain
injury:
Traumatic brain injury is an insult to the brain, not of degenerative
or congenital nature but caused by an external physical force, that may
produce a diminished or altered state of consciousness, which results in
an impairment of cognitive abilities or physical functioning. It can
also result in the disturbance of behavioral or emotional functioning.
These impairments may be either temporary or permanent and cause partial
or total functional disability or psychosocial maladjustment.
The long term disabilities and functional impairments from TBI can
include:
Physical impairments such as:
- Seizures of all types;
- Muscle spasticity;
- Double vision or low vision, even blindness;
- Speech impairments such as slow or slurred speech;
- Hearing loss;
- Fatigue, increased need for sleep; and
- Balance problems
Cognitive impairments such as:
- Short or long term memory loss;
- Slowed ability to process information;
- Trouble concentrating or paying attention for periods of time;
- Difficulty keeping up with a conversation;
- Communication difficulties such as problems finding the correct
words;
- Spatial disorientation;
- Organizational problems and impaired judgment;
- Inability to do more than one thing at a time
Psychosocial, behavioral or emotional impairments such as:
- A lack of initiating activities, or once started, difficulty in
completing tasks without reminders;
- Increased anxiety;
- Depression and mood swings;
- Denial of deficits;
- Impulsive behavior;
- Lowered self esteem;
- Sexual dysfunction;
- Excessive laughing or crying.
These impairments often are the cause of major stress in peer and
family relationships as well as functioning in school and employment.
Acquired Brain Injury
On March 14, 1997, the Brain Injury Association adopted the following
definition of acquired brain injury:
An injury to the brain which is not hereditary, congenital or
degenerative. An acquired brain injury is an injury to the brain that
has occurred after birth. The injury commonly results in a change in
neuronal activity which affects the physical integrity, the metabolic
activity, or the functional ability of the cell. The term does not refer
to brain injuries that are congenital or brain injuries induced by birth
trauma.
Causes of acquired brain injury include external forces applied to the
head and/or neck (e.g., traumatic brain injury with or without skull
fracture), anoxic/hypoxic injury (e.g., cardiopulmonary arrest, carbon
monoxide poisoning, airway obstruction, hemorrhage), intracranial surgery,
vascular disruption (e.g., arteriovenous malformation (AMV),
thromboembolic events, fat emboli), infectious diseases, intracranial
neoplasms, metabolic disorder (e.g., hypo/hyper glycemia, hepatic
encephalopathy, uremic encephalopathy), seizure disorders and toxic
exposure (e.g., substance abuse, ingestion of lead and inhalation of
volatile agents).
An acquired brain injury may result in mild, moderate, or severe
impairments in one or more areas including cognition; speech-language
communication; memory, attention and concentration; reasoning; abstract
thinking; physical functions; psychosocial behavior and information
processing.
- For more information contact:
Brain Injury Association, Inc.
105 North Alfred Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.236.6000 www.biausa.org
Creating a better future through brain injury
prevention, research, education and advocacy
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