CBIRT Online

Blog for the Center on Brain Injury Research and Training (CBIRT)

Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

Filed under: TBI

St. Louis University study targets veterans' brain damage

Researchers at St. Louis University School of Medicine want to detect and categorize mild brain damage suffered in military combat.

Their target is to analyze as many as 300,000 soldiers who have returned from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with traumatic brain injury, ranging from severe to mild. Those with mild traumatic brain injury are their main concern.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/fitness/article_e5452d06-3ac7-5f78-a05a-7f05dbce8310.html

Memoirs of No Memory: Life as a college student with a TBI

Chrissy Bongiorni graduated from Gordon College in 2011. She experienced a traumatic brain injury in high school, and composed the essay for her Writing for the Media class to explain the challenges, victories, and aspirations of a student with TBI. In her words,

Living life today with a traumatic brain injury is constant work. The obvious disadvantage of this injury is the extra effort it requires to remember something or recognize someone. If someone tells me about the traffic downtown, I might forget it by the time I am in the car and on my way. This is a realistic challenge for me. But on the up side, I am able to forget emotions or moments that may not be worth remembering anyway...
Read the full essay:

 

2011 Federal Interagency Conference on TBI

Last week's Federal Interagency Conference on Traumatic Brain Injury was a great success!  The Interagency Conference website has the abstracts from all of the presentations given on Pediatric TBI, here:

http://tbi-interagency-conference.org/materials/index/subject-PediatricTBI.html

Several of our colleagues from CBIRT presented symposia and scientific papers at the conference. Materials from these presentations by can be found on the CBIRT website:

http://tbifocus.org/publications-resources/#presentations

  • Systematic Instruction of Assistive Technology for Cognition Following TBI
    • Presenters: Powell, L. E. & Wild, M. R.
  • Longitudinal Investigation of the Post-High School Transition Experiences of Adolescents with Traumatic Brain Injury
    • Presenters: Ettel, D. & Todis, B.
  • Transitioning Students with TBI From High School to the Community
    • Presenter: Hood, D.

and at:

http://tbifocus.org/publications-resources/#presentations

  • Empirically-Based Interventions To Improve Cognitive, Behavioral, and Academic Outcomes Following Pediatric TBI
    • Presenters: Glang, A.; Harn, B.; Taylor, H. G.; Wade, S.

 

 

Will brain-training software be the next big advance in TBI treatment?

Recently, the business of 'brain-training' software has rapidly grown in profile. Earlier this year, the the Department of Defense awarded a $2 million grant to study the effectiveness of Posit Science software in restoring memory and attention in victims of traumatic brain injury. The company Luminosity has secured a grant through the Navy to study how its brain training games can improve cognitive ability and fluid intelligence.

Can game-like software really help adults with brain injury improve memory, attention and language skills, over the long-term?

Early research looked promising, but critics doubt that short-term improvements in memory would last longer than the three-month period observed in most studies. The randomized clinical trial through the DoD would test 132 service members with mild TBI over a six month period – the final test would be 3 months after the end of cognitive training.

In short, more research needs to be done to gauge the impact of 'brain-training' on cognitive skills in specific populations (e.g. adults with brain injury), over a longer period of time.

Recent articles:

New York Times/The Bay Citizen – Turning to Software to Help Treat Brain Injuries

Ars Technica – Brain Training Boosts Working Memory, But Only In Some People

Fast Company – Why "Brain Gyms" May Be The Next Big Business

Blogs.Forbes.com – Luminosity Looks to Make Military Smarter with Navy Grant

How are resources for students with brain injury allocated over the lifespan?

Historically, pediatric brain injury has been addressed primarily as a medical issue. Most of the services (and research) have focused on the acute management of the injury.  However, schools are now acknowledged to be the major provider of rehabilitative as well as educational services for children and adolescents with TBI. Following a severe brain injury at age 10, for example, a child may receive services for three months in acute and rehabilitative medical care, followed by eight years of services in community schools, a ratio of 1:32. 
Investigators agree that rehabilitative needs evolve and often grow in number and intensity over the years after pediatric TBI, resulting in seriously compromised adult outcomes. Furthermore, because school professionals have less training than medical and rehabilitation professionals in understanding and managing A/TBI-related issues, their need for training and support is greater than that of medical and rehabilitation professionals. Fortunately, there is a growing realization that more resources need to be devoted to supporting students’ long term needs, and that services are best provided in the school setting.
- Mark Ylvisaker, PhD. (2009). National Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury Plan