Recent neuroimaging techniques in mild traumatic brain injury

J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2007 Winter;19(1):5-20. doi: 10.1176/jnp.2007.19.1.5.

Abstract

Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is characterized by acute physiological changes that result in at least some acute cognitive difficulties and typically resolve by 3 months postinjury. Because the majority of mild TBI patients have normal structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/computed tomography (CT) scans, there is increasing attention directed at finding objective physiological correlates of persistent cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms through experimental neuroimaging techniques. The authors review studies utilizing these techniques in patients with mild TBI; these techniques may provide more sensitive assessment of structural and functional abnormalities following mild TBI. Particular promise is evident with fMRI, PET, and SPECT scanning, as demonstrated by associations between brain activation and clinical outcomes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brain Injuries / pathology*
  • Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Positron-Emission Tomography
  • Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed