Brain injury and aggression: can we get some help?

摘要

For the clinician who has had any depth of experience working with a brain-injured population, there is little doubt that behavioral problems following traumatic brain injury (TBI) can present significant management challenges. Common in TBI, behavioral disinhibition and associated problems may increase over the first year following injury, and are often associated with damage to the prefrontal regions of the brain. Estimates of the occurrence of agitation or aggression range from 35% to 96% of patients with TBI during the acute period and from 31% to 71% of these patients in the chronic phase.