Traumatic head injury in children

Head trauma in children is a major public health problem. It is a leading cause of death, and it can result in a spectrum of difficulties involving cognition, academic achievement, and social interaction. Children are evolving organisms for whom a static conceptualization of outcome may cloud the effects of traumatic brain injury. This important book explores sources of unexplained variability in outcome by developmental stage. For clinicians, the volume will provide easy access into the mainstream of research on traumatic brain injury in children, its pathophysiology, treatment, and outcome. For scientists specializing in cognition and development, and for those in the basic neurosciences, the studies of traumatic brain injury discussed in this book offer a unique opportunity to relate brain structure to patterns of behavior.

Modern neurodiagnostic techniques have created new possibilities for understanding the neurological basis of the diverse behavioral deficits shown by head-injured children. The contributors of this volume not only present detailed analyses of the present state of knowledge of the diverse determinants of outcome in children with head injury, but they also emphasize the gaps and limitations in our knowledge.