Depression after Traumatic Brain Injury

ABSTRACT

Traumatic Brain Injury(TBI) of any severity can result in broad and persisting biopsychosocial sequelae. Depression after TBI occur at a greater frequency than in the general population, with estimates approaching 25% to 50% for major depression, and 155 to 30% for dysthmia. Acute onset depressions are related to lesion location and may have their etiology in biological response of the injured brain, whereas delayed onset depressions may be mediated by psychosocial factors, suggesting psychological reactions as a possible mechanism. Anxious depressions are associated with right hemisphere lesions, whereas major depressions alone are associated with left dorsolateral frontal and left basal ganglia lesions. However, there is insufficient information to postulate a specific neuroanatomic model for TBI-related depression.