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Electrical Brain Injury

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology

  • 45 Accesses

Synonyms

Electrical injury; Electrocution; Lightning injury

Definition

For the purposes of this entry, “electrical brain injury” (EBI) refers to cerebral damage, system dysfunction, or death sustained from direct or indirect exposure to an electric current or source. Following the conventions generally present in the literature, the term “electrical injury” (EI) is used to distinguish injuries due to man-made sources of electricity from natural sources, referred to as “lightning injury” (LI).

Historical Background

Records of electricity-related injuries related to natural phenomena date back to the beginning of recorded history in cultures across the globe. Injury sustained from man-made electrical power is understandably a more recent occurrence, as generated electricity is a relatively modern development.

An appreciation of the safety risks of electrical power grew as the technology to harness and apply electricity for commercial and residential use became more common in the middle...

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References and Readings

  • Duff, K., & McCaffrey, R. (2001). Electrical injury and lightning injury: A review of their mechanisms and neuropsychological, psychiatric, and neurological sequelae. Neuropsychology Review, 11(2), 101–116.

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  • Gatewood, M., & Zane, R. (2004). Lightning injuries. Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America, 22, 369–403.

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  • Koumbourlis, A. (2002). Electrical injuries. Critical Care Medicine, 30(11), S424–S430.

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  • Pliskin, N., Capelli-Schellpfeffer, M., Law, R., Malina, A., Kelley, K., & Lee, R. (1998). Neuropsychological symptom presentation after electrical injury. The Journal of Trauma, Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, 44(4), 709–715.

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  • Pliskin, N., Ammar, A., Fink, J., Hill, K., Malina, A., Ramati, A., et al. (2006). Neuropsychological changes following electrical injury. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 12, 17–23.

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  • Primeau, M., Engelstatter, G., & Bares, K. (1995). Behavioral consequences of lightning and electrical injury. Seminars in Neurology, 15(3), 279–285.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuropsychology, Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana, 4141 Shore Drive, Indianapolis, IN, 46254, USA

    Bradley J. Hufford

Authors
  1. Bradley J. Hufford
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bradley J. Hufford .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Richmond, Virgin Islands, USA

    Jeffrey Kreutzer

  2. Kessler Foundation , West Orange, New Jersey, USA

    John DeLuca

  3. Suite 200 , Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA

    Bruce Caplan

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

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Hufford, B.J. (2016). Electrical Brain 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_237-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_237-3

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

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