Awareness of Deficit After Combat-related Brain Injury

The extent of recovery from brain injury is often difficult to predict because of our limited understanding of how the brain changes as it heals. New brain imaging methods may help in this regard. One imaging technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has made it possible to study the brain "at work"; that is, we can see regions of the brain that are active during particular tasks such as focusing attention, making decisions, or remembering words and pictures. Another MRI method called diffusion tensor imaging provides information on the pathways between brain regions that may be altered with brain injury.

The goals of this research are to 1) determine the brain regions involved in making accurate judgments about one's abilities and disabilities after a brain injury and whether damage to these brain areas affects outcome; and 2) examine how recovery of cognitive and physical abilities relates to changes in brain function over time. In order to accomplish the first goal we will recruit Veterans who have sustained a head injury and matched control subjects. For the second goal, we are asking patients and controls who have previously participated in brain injury research with our lab to come back for another visit at three years post-injury.