Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Right Hemisphere Damage (RHD) Study Guide

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering essential terms and concepts related to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Right Hemisphere Damage (RHD) for exam preparation.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

A brain injury caused by an external force, such as a fall, blow to the head, car accident, or sports injury.

Primary Injury

Injury that occurs at the time of impact, resulting from direct mechanical damage.

Coup Injury

Damage at the site of impact in a traumatic brain injury.

Contrecoup Injury

Damage on the opposite side of the brain after the brain rebounds inside the skull.

Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI)

Widespread shearing of axons caused by rotational movement, leading to cognitive impairments.

Secondary Injury

Injury that occurs after the initial trauma, reflecting the body's biological response to injury.

Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)

A scale that measures consciousness based on eye opening, verbal response, and motor response, scoring from 3 to 15.

Post-Traumatic Amnesia (PTA)

The period from injury until the individual gains continuous memory.

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to form new memories following an injury.

Retrograde Amnesia

Loss of memories from before the injury.

Rancho Los Amigos Scale (RLA)

A scale used to assess a person's level of functioning following a TBI, ranging from no response to independent functioning.

Left Neglect

A spatial attention disorder characterized by a lack of awareness to the left side of the body or environment.

Aprosodia

Reduced ability to express or interpret meaning in speech through prosody, leading to monotone or emotionally flat speech.

Anosognosia

A condition in which a person lacks awareness of their own deficits.

Prosopagnosia

The inability to recognize familiar faces, often seen in RHD.

Executive Functioning

Mental processes that support goal-directed behavior, including planning, organization, and problem-solving.

Procedural Discourse

Explaining how to do something step by step, often challenging in TBI and RHD.

Standardized Assessments

Formal, objective instruments used to evaluate cognitive-communication abilities and compare performance to norms.

Screenings

Brief assessments to determine if a more detailed evaluation is needed.

Informal Assessment

Assessment approach that includes interviews, observations, and real-life task analysis to evaluate communication skills.