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Traumatic injury to the brain resulting from high-speed acceleration of the brain within the skull cavity in the direction of inertial force.
Current Knowledge
During acceleration injury, movement of the head is unrestricted. One of the most common scenarios resulting in acceleration injury is a high-speed motor vehicle accident. Primary brain injury results from brain tissue and brain structures compressing against one another in the force of inertia. This may result in bruising, hemorrhage, and shearing of the underlying tensile strength of white matter connections deep within the brain. Secondary injury may occur hours or even days after the inciting traumatic event. Secondary effects of injury can include decreased cerebral blood flow, edema, hemorrhage, increased intracranial pressure, and biochemical changes that may cause excitotoxicity and more extensive damage to the surrounding brain structures and their associated...
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References and Readings
Bayly, P. V., Cohen, T. S., Leister, E. P., Ajo, D., Leuthardt, E. C., & Genin, G. M. (2005). Acceleration-induced deformation of the human brain. Journal of Neurotrauma, 22(8), 845–856.
Li, Y., Zhang, L., Kallakuri, S., Zhou, R., & Cavanaugh, J. M. (2011). Quantitative relationship between axonal injury and mechanical response in a rodent head impact acceleration model. Journal of Neurotrauma, 28(9), 1767–1782.
Sabet, A. A., Christoforou, E., Zatlin, B., Genin, G. M., & Bayly, P. V. (2008). Deformation of the human brain induced by mild angular head acceleration. Journal of Biomechanics, 41, 307–315.
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Rush, B. (2016). Acceleration Injury. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_219-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_219-3
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Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
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Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2
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