F. Don Nidiffer, PhD, Austin Errico, PhD, Tina M. Trudel, PhD, and Jeffrey T. Barth, PhD

Individual reactions to being exposed to trauma vary greatly. Factors that influence such reactions include age, gender, history of previous exposure, personality predispositions, and nature of the trauma [1]. For most people, being exposed to trauma on any given day is fortunately of low probability. For others, such as those in military combat, trauma is a part of daily life. The experience of trauma in daily life is more frequent than one may think. Children and spouses who are frequently exposed to violence at home know what it’s like to live in an unsafe situation, and can develop “stress disorders” that can include mood disorders, anxiety disorders and somatoform disorders [2]. Military personnel who are exposed to severe training conditions in readiness for deployment to active duty are also familiar with living under extremely stressful circumstances. Stress related disorders often result in physiological distress and concomitant cognitive and behavioral problems. Traumatic events that are capable of causing a brain injury also may cause stress reactions and/or can further complicate pre-existing anxiety disorders. A stress related disorder can interfere with and significantly impede the treatment and recovery from traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Minah Suh, PhD, Ranjeeta Sarkar, Rachel Kolster, Pamela Drexel, Jamshid Ghajar, MD, PhD

Explosive devices directed against both civilian and military targets are often employed in acts of terrorism throughout the world, with the incidence of blast injuries on the rise [1]. In war zones, it is estimated that as many as 47% of all blast injuries affect the head [2]. Increased prevalence underscores the need for researching innovative assessment methods in detecting blast-related brain injury, since many brain injuries may have no external marker of injury. Blast injuries often produce symptoms similar to those found in classical traumatic brain injury (TBI) [3], thereby making detection, diagnosis, and treatment exceedingly complex and variable [4].