Citation

Wortzel HS, Brenner LA, Arciniegas DB. Behav. Sci. Law 2013; 31(6): 721-738.

Affiliation

Neuropsychiatry Service, Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO; Division of Forensic Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO; Behavioral Neurology Section, Department of Neurology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO; Beth K. and Stuart C. Yudofsky Division of Neuropsychiatry, Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/bsl.2079

PMID

24019038

Abstract

Recent scientific reports and popular press describing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) collectively link this condition to a broad array of neuropsychiatric symptoms, including extremely rare and multi-determined behaviors such as murder-suicide. These reports are difficult to reconcile with several decades of research on the science of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its consequences, especially the natural history and prognosis of mild TBI. This article attempts to reconcile these sources by reviewing the state of the science on CTE, with particular attention to case definitions and neuropathological criteria for this diagnosis. The evidence for links between TBI, CTE, and catastrophic clinical events is explored, and the complexity of attributing rare frequency behavioral events to CTE is highlighted. The clinical and medicolegal implications of the best available evidence are discussed, concluding with a cautionary note against prematurely generalizing current findings on CTE to entire populations of persons with, or at risk for, concussion exposures. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Language: en