CBIS Exam Prep ( Essential Brain Injury Guide, Edition 5.0 )
lost productivity ✔ one measure of the cost to society due to injury or disease; includes the loss of wages a person would have earned if they had not
become unemployable due to disability, loss of taxes contributing to economy,
costs to the government of supporting the individual, etc.; lost productivity costs DO NOT include cost of treatment and support post-injury or illness
acquired brain injury (ABI) ✔ An injury to the brain that is not hereditary, congenital, degenerative, or induced by birth trauma
traumatic brain injury (TBI) ✔ an alteration in brain function, or other evidence of brain pathology, caused by an external force
traumatic impact ✔ injuries resulting from contact (when head is struck by or against an object)
traumatic intertial injuries ✔ injury to the brain not caused by impact but
as a result of inertial forces, such as acceleration-deceleration forces
closed injuries ✔ injury to the brain resulting in brain lacerations, contusions or intracerebral hemorrhage
open injuries ✔ injury to the head in which there is a breach of the skull or a breach of the meninges
penetrating brain injury ✔ any injury that involves the penetration of a foreign object, munitions, fragment, bone chip, etc. through the dura mater
non-traumatic brain injury ✔ damage to the brain caused by internal factors, such as oxygen or nutrient deprivation to brain cells, exposure to toxins, pressure from a tumor or blockage, or other neurological disorder
coup-contrecoup injury ✔ Coup injury: head injury that results from impact of a moving object--occurs at the site of impact Contrecoup effect: impact injury resulting from the moving head striking a stationary object--injury occurs at the side of the head opposite the point of impact
primary injury ✔ initial cause of damage to the brain, from which injury severity ratings are obtained
secondary injury ✔ pathophysiological events that occur following the initial primary injury to the brain
loss of consciousness (LOC) ✔ temporary altered state, unlike sleep, when a person is unresponsive to stimuli; usually due to trauma, stroke, or other injury
risk factors for brain injury ✔ injury severity
age at injury
alcohol misuse
domestic violence
service in the military
participation in sports
history of prior brain injury
chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) ✔ a condition, diagnosed after death, relative to multiple concussions caused by significant force. A progressive degenerative disease, CTE is most often sustained by athletes participating in contact sports; may also be observed in domestic violence victims or abused children who have sustained numerous blows to the head
neurogenic bladder ✔ a secondary condition caused when a TBI affects the cerebral structures controlling bladder storage and emptying functions
spasticity ✔ involuntary, abnormal motor patterns; may interfere with a person's general functioning, self-care, and mobility
activities of daily living (ADLs) ✔ dressing, eating, showering, toileting, walking
post-traumatic immune paralysis ✔ acute period after sustaining significant bodily trauma, when the immune response is significantly impaired; frequently associated with the high prevalence of potentially life-
threatening infections post-injury
computed tomography (CT) ✔ a cross-sectional series of X-rays used to view body organs, allowing medical professionals to view the scans in multiple individual layers; some scans can be reconstructed into a 3D image
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ✔ a technique that uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images of the organs and tissues within the body
diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) ✔ an MRI method that maps the diffusion of molecules, primarily water, in a person's body non-invasively
acceleration-deceleration forces ✔ sudden impact following a high velocity of speed, frequently resulting in brain injury
intracranial pressure (ICP) ✔ Pressure inside the skull from the brain and
CSF. Pressure may vary due to production and absorption of CSF following injury.
subdural hematoma (SDH) ✔ bleeding into the space between the dura mater and the arachnoid layers of the meninges
hydrocephalus ✔ Abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles of the brain
diffuse axonal injury (DAI) ✔ brain injury occurring when the white matter tracts are stretched and broken, resulting in extensive, widespread damage
hypoxia/anoxia ✔ decrease in/absence of oxygen getting to the brain; results in cell death
major descending nerve tracts ✔ -anterior corticospinal tract
-lateral corticospinal tract
-rubrospinal tract
-tectospinal tract major ascending nerve tracts ✔ -fasciculus cuneatus and fasciculus gracilis
-Lissauer's tract
-anterior and posterior spinocerebellar tracts
-spinothalamic tracts
-spinoreticular tract
-spinotectal tract
neuroprotection ✔ preservation of neuronal functioning and structure; reducing the rate of neuronal loss over time; refers to the ability of a drug or biological agent to prevent brain cells from dying
neuroplasticity ✔ the ability of the brain to change its structure or function due to the environment; refers to the ability of the nervous system to regenerate and reorganize itself, and to form new connections in order to compensate for injury or adapt to changes in the environment
secondary injury cascade ✔ Primary injury (primary damage/mechanical
damage) leads to secondary injury (pathophysiological processes, delayed non-
mechanical processes.
Phase 1 of secondary injury includes impaired blood flow, tissue damage, metabolic imbalance, membrane permeability--these lead to edema formation, inflammation, and blood-brain barrier breakdown.
Phase 2 includes axon terminal depolarization, intracellular breakdown, apoptosis, release of excitatory neurotransmitters, free radical generation, and necrosis--these processes ultimately lead to cell death.
experience-dependent learning ✔ as our experiences change, the brain's morphology/structure changes; I.e. Hebbian learning, "neurons that fire together wire together"
polytherapies ✔ the use of more than one treatment method in a combined therapeutic approach
reactive axonal sprouting and synaptogenesis ✔ When a subset of neural projections to a brain region is lost, remaining ones sprout and form new