Cognitive rehabilitation and traumatic brain injury

Abstract

The last twenty years have seen a rapid expansion in the provision of post-acute rehabilitation services for patients with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in North America, although such provision remains limited in Britain. These developments have been precipitated by a growing appreciation by health purchasers and providers of the neuropsychological and social sequelae of TBI and demands by patients and their families for effective treatment. Most investigations have found that the majority of TBI survivors are young males under the age of thirty and that by far the most common cause of TBI is road traffic accidents. Typically the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain suffer the greatest impact and survivors subsequently present with deficits affecting memory and new learning, attentional dysfunction and impaired planning and organizational skills.