New Imaging Study Shows Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which can be done on an MRI scanner with special software, has been shown to show structural changes in the white matter of the brain even in patients with mild traumatic brain injury. Dr. Marilyn Kraus noted “even in patients with mild TBI – those identified as having minimal or no loss of consciousness – there were structural deficits.” Thirty-seven TBI patients underwent the imaging study as well as neuropsychological testing to evaluate memory, attention and executive functioning. Researchers found that the structural changes in the white matter correlated to the observable cognitive deficits related to thinking, memory and attention.