Advances in neuroimaging of traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder

J Rehabil Res Dev. 2009;46(6):717-57. doi: 10.1682/jrrd.2008.12.0161.

Abstract

Improved diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are needed for our military and veterans, their families, and society at large. Advances in brain imaging offer important biomarkers of structural, functional, and metabolic information concerning the brain. This article reviews the application of various imaging techniques to the clinical problems of TBI and PTSD. For TBI, we focus on findings and advances in neuroimaging that hold promise for better detection, characterization, and monitoring of objective brain changes in symptomatic patients with combat-related, closed-head brain injuries not readily apparent by standard computed tomography or conventional magnetic resonance imaging techniques.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Blast Injuries / diagnosis
  • Blast Injuries / pathology
  • Brain Injuries / diagnosis*
  • Brain Injuries / pathology
  • Diffusion Tensor Imaging
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Positron-Emission Tomography
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / diagnosis*
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / pathology