What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Dr Jenna Ziebell:
What is a traumatic brain injury or TBI? Well, TBI is a type of acquired brain injury. This
umbrella term of acquired brain injury is used for a multitude of injuries which may include:
hypoxia or loss of oxygen to the brain, brain tumours and epilepsy, as well as surgical
resection, where surgery has removed part of the brain tissue. Infections such as meningitis
can also cause brain injury. But this course is focused on traumatic brain injury, also referred
to as TBI.
Traumatic brain injury is often described as an injury to the brain resulting from external
forces, but what does that really mean? Well, the brain gets damaged from the head
impacting on an object, or by the head stopping suddenly, and these forces result in injury.
Traumatic brain injury is a spectrum of mild, or concussive-like injury, through to severe.
There is also a multitude of symptoms and recovery patterns from TBIs. As you’ll hear more
throughout this course, the symptoms and recovery do not always align with the injury
severity.

Worldwide, traumatic brain injury is a critical public health and socioeconomic problem. It is
often described as a silent epidemic with estimates suggesting that 69 million individuals
sustain a TBI each year: That's about 939 cases per 100 000 people, however this could
actually be an underestimate given many individuals do not seek attention for mild TBIs,
such as concussions.
Traumatic brain injury is a major cause of death especially in young adults, and lifelong
disability is common for those who survive these injuries. TBI commonly leads to
neurocognitive deficits such as impaired attention, and psychological health issues including
depression. We tend to see three age-dependent peaks in TBI: The first in young children;
the next in adolescents and young adults; the last in the elderly. How the injury occurs
between these age groups also differs. TBIs in the very young and the elderly tend to occur
due to falls, whereas in young adults and adolescents these injuries are more likely to be
associated with risk-taking behaviour and motor vehicle accidents.

As you progress through this MOOC, you will be introduced to the brain, types of traumatic
brain injury, and what happens to the brain and the person with traumatic brain injury. First,
you will learn about the spectrum of severity: mild, moderate, and severe, then how age
and injury may influence outcomes. Lastly, you will learn about recovery and outcomes.
Throughout the course you will see myself, as well as Nicole Bye, Christine Padgett, and
James Vickers. Together we will introduce you to experts from around the world to assist
you with your learning about TBI. To begin our journey in understanding traumatic brain
injury we will start by looking more closely at the brain.

Module 1 - What is a Traumatic Brain Injury? - Page 1 of 1