Introduction

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important public health issue in the USA, with estimates of over 1.5 million new cases a year, most commonly due to motor vehicle accidents and falls [1]. TBI ranges in severity from mild to severe and results in some disturbance in cognitive, behavioral, emotional, or physical functioning. Often the effects of TBI are not physically observable to others, and thus are not well understood or appreciated by the general public. For persons with mild injuries, these effects may be first recognized, diagnosed, and treated by neuropsychologists. Thus, it is imperative that neuropsychologists have a good understanding of the short- and long-term cognitive, neurobehavioral, and psychosocial effects of TBI and how these effects change over the course of TBI recovery.

Although no particular demographic group is biologically predisposed to brain injury, certain groups are at higher risk. In adults, rates for TBI peak between the ages of 15 and 24 years and for persons older than 64 [2]. Other than for the very young or the very old, TBI rates are universally higher for men than women [3]. Other risk factors for brain injury include alcohol consumption [4], prior brain injury [5], and low socioeconomic status [6]. TBIs related to sports and recreation activities are receiving more attention, with an estimated 300,000 sports-related injuries with loss of consciousness each year [7].