Neuroimaging of deployment-associated traumatic brain injury (TBI) with a focus on mild TBI (mTBI) since 2009.

OBJECTIVES: A substantial body of recent research has aimed to better understand the clinical sequelae of military trauma through the application of advanced brain imaging procedures in Veteran populations. The primary objective of this review was to highlight a portion of these recent studies to demonstrate how imaging tools can be used to understand military-associated brain injury.

METHODS: We focus here on the phenomenon of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) given its high prevalence in the Veteran population and current recognition of the need to better understand the clinical implications of this trauma. This is intended to provide readers with an initial exposure to the field of neuroimaging of mTBI with a brief introduction to the concept of traumatic brain injury, followed by a summary of the major imaging techniques that have been applied to the study of mTBI.

RESULTS: Taken together, the collection of studies reviewed demonstrates a clear role for neuroimaging towards understanding the various neural consequences of mTBI as well as the clinical complications of such brain changes.

CONCLUSIONS: This information must be considered in the larger context of research into mTBI, including the potentially unique nature of blast exposure and the long-term consequences of mTBI.