A morphometric analysis of neuroanatomic abnormalities in traumatic brain injury

Cognitive and structural brain abnormalities are common following traumatic brain injury (TBI). The authors compared cognition and brain structure in 14 TBI survivors and 28 matched healthy comparison subjects. TBI survivors showed reduced cerebral volume, due mainly to white matter changes, and poorer attention, psychomotor speed, and memory. Severity of white matter abnormality correlated with worse performance on several cognitive measures that distinguished between groups. Using voxel-based morphometry, regions of reduced white matter concentration were found throughout the cerebrum along with more localized gray matter reductions. Findings suggest that diffuse rather than focal aspects of TBI contribute most to cognitive outcome.