Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-55f67697df-2z2hb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-05-09T03:50:42.473Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Head injury

from Medical topics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2014

By
Erin D. Bigler
Edited by
Susan Ayers ,
Andrew Baum ,
Chris McManus ,
Stanton Newman ,
Kenneth Wallston ,
John Weinman  and
Robert West
Erin D. Bigler
Affiliation:
Brigham Young University
Susan Ayers
Affiliation:
University of Sussex
Andrew Baum
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Chris McManus
Affiliation:
St Mary's Hospital Medical School
Stanton Newman
Affiliation:
University College and Middlesex School of Medicine
Kenneth Wallston
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
John Weinman
Affiliation:
United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas's
Robert West
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, University of London
Get access

Summary

Head injuries are generally divided into two types: closed and open or penetrating (Graham et al., 2002). In open or penetrating injuries, the skull is breached, most commonly struck with violent force by foreign objects during an assault or from a gun shot or as a result of the head impacting some part of the vehicle in a motor vehicle accident (MVA). Part of the damage from penetrating injuries often includes bone fragments and other debris associated with the trauma that directly injures the brain. In addition to the mechanical damage to brain tissue, there is typically local haemorrhaging that also damages the brain, since the forces that penetrate the brain usually tear blood vessels in the region of penetration. The pathological consequences of open or penetrating injuries to the brain are most likely to produce focal brain injuries, although often generalized damage may also occur. Open head injuries are less common than closed and some, like gunshot wounds (GSW) to the head, are associated with very high mortality.

The most common head injury associated with survival is a closed head injury (CHI), where the brain is injured by the mechanical, concussive and movement forces within the cranium, secondarily through impact to the head and/or acceleration/deceleration forces. Either regional or global, such forces place what are referred to as tensile or shear-strain effects throughout the brain. These effects have the potential to stretch neural tissue, particularly axons, which in turn damages either their structure or function.

Type
Chapter
Information
Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine , pp. 720 - 724
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

American Psychiatric Association (APA). (1994). DSM-IV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (4th edn.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Annegers, J. F. & Coan, S. P. (2000). The risks of epilepsy after traumatic brain injury. Seizure, 9, 453–7.Google Scholar
Bigler, E. D. (2005). Structural imaging. In Silver, J. M., Yudofsky, S. C. & Hales, R. E. (Eds.). Textbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, (2nd edn.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Bigler, E. D. (Ed.). (1990). Traumatic brain injury. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Blatter, D. D., Bigler, E. D., Gale, S. D.et al. (1995). Quantitative volumetric analysis of brain MR: normative database spanning 5 decades of life. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 16, 241–51.Google Scholar
Blatter, D. D., Bigler, E. D., Gale, S. D.et al. (1997). MR-based brain and cerebrospinal fluid measurement after traumatic brain injury: correlation with neuropsychological outcome. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 18, 1–10.Google Scholar
Borgaro, S., Caples, H. & Prigatano, G. P. (2003). Non-pharmacological management of psychiatric disturbances after traumatic brain injury. International Review of Psychiatry, 15, 371–9.Google Scholar
Bruns, J., Jr. & Hauser, W. A. (2003). The epidemiology of traumatic brain injury: a review. Epilepsia, 44(Suppl. 10), 2–10.Google Scholar
Cato, M. A., Delis, D. C., Abildskov, T. J. & Bigler, E. (2004). Assessing the elusive cognitive deficits associated with ventromedial prefrontal damage: a case of a modern-day Phineas Gage. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 10, 453–65.Google Scholar
Colantonio, A., Ratcliff, G., Chase, S.et al. (2004). Long-term outcomes after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Disability and Rehabilitation, 26, 253–61.Google Scholar
Dikmen, S. S., Bombardier, C. H., Machamer, J. E., Fann, J. R. & Temkin, N. R. (2004). Natural history of depression in traumatic brain injury. Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 85, 1457–64.Google Scholar
Dikmen, S. S., Machamer, J. E., Powell, J. M. & Temkin, N. R. (2003). Outcome 3 to 5 years after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 84, 1449–57.Google Scholar
Fann, J. R., Burington, B., Leonetti, A.et al. (2004). Psychiatric illness following traumatic brain injury in an adult health maintenance organization population. Archives of General Psychiatry, 61, 53–61.Google Scholar
Graham, D. I., Gennarelli, T. A. & McIntosh, T. K. (2002). Trauma. In Graham, D. I. & Lantos, P. L. (Eds.). Greenfield's Neuropathology, (7th edn.) (pp. 823–98). New York: Arnold.
Guskiewicz, K. M., McCrea, M., Marshall, S. W.et al. (2003). Cumulative effects associated with recurrent concussion in collegiate football players: the NCAA concussion study. Journal of the American Medical Association, 290, 2549–55.Google Scholar
Hatton, J. (2001). Pharmacological treatment of traumatic brain injury: a review of agents in development. CNS Drugs, 15(7), 553–81.Google Scholar
Holsinger, T., Steffens, D. C., Phillips, C.et al. (2002). Head injury in early adulthood and the lifetime risk of depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 59, 17–22.Google Scholar
Jorge, R. E., Robinson, R. G., Moser, D.et al. (2004). Major depression following traumatic brain injury. Archives of General Psychiatry, 61, 42–50.Google Scholar
Kaminska, B., Gaweda-Walerych, K. & Zawadzka, M. (2004). Molecular mechanisms of neuroprotective action of immunosuppressants – facts and hypotheses. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, 8, 45–58.Google Scholar
Katz, D. I. & Alexander, M. P. (1994). Traumatic brain injury. Predicting course of recovery and outcome for patients admitted to rehabilitation. Archives of Neurology, 51, 661–70.Google Scholar
Leclerc, S., Lassonde, M., Delaney, J. S., Lacroix, V. J. & Johnston, K. M. (2001). Recommendations for grading of concussion in athletes. Sports Medicine, 31, 629–36.Google Scholar
Lezak, M. D., Howieson, D. B. & Loring, D. W. (2004). Neuropsychological Assessment, (4th edn.). New York: Oxford University Press.
McCrea, M., Guskiewicz, K. M., Marshall, S. W.et al. (2003). Acute effects and recovery time following concussion in collegiate football players: the NCAA concussion study. Journal of the American Medical Association, 290, 2556–63.Google Scholar
Miller, M. A., Burnett, D. M. & McElligott, J. M. (2003). Congenital and acquired brain injury. 3. Rehabilitation interventions: cognitive, behavioral, and community reentry. Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 84(3 Suppl. 1), S12–17.Google Scholar
Millis, S. R., Rosenthal, M., Novack, T. A.et al. (2001). Long-term neuropsychological outcome after traumatic brain injury. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 16, 343–55.Google Scholar
Oquendo, M. A., Friedman, J. H., Grunebaum, M. F.et al. (2004). Suicidal behavior and mild traumatic brain injury in major depression. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 192, 430–4.Google Scholar
Plassman, B. L., Havlik, R. J., Steffens, D. C.et al. (2000). Documented head injury in early adulthood and risk of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Neurology, 55, 1158–66.Google Scholar
Salmond, C. H., Menon, D. K., Chatfield, D. A., Pickard, J. D. & Sahakian, B. J. (2005). Deficits in decision-making in head injury survivors. Journal of Neurotrauma, 22, 613–22.Google Scholar
Silver, J. M., McAllister, T. W. & Yudofsky, S. C. (Eds.). (2005). Textbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, (2nd edn.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.
Teasdale, G. & Jennett, B. (1974). Assessment of coma and impaired consciousness: a practical scale. Lancet, 2, 81–4.Google Scholar
Tong, K. A., Ashwal, S., Holshouser, B. A.et al. (2004). Diffuse axonal injury in children: clinical correlation with hemorrhagic lesions. Annals of Neurology, 56, 36–50.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×