Mild traumatic brain injury from primary blast vs. blunt forces: post-concussion consequences and functional neuroimaging.

Introduction: Primary blast forces may cause dysfunction from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Objective: To investigate the effects of primary blast forces, independent of associated blunt trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, on sensitive post-concussive measures.

Methods: This study investigated post-concussive symptoms, functional health and well-being, cognition, and positron emission tomography (PET) neuroimaging among 12 Iraq or Afghanistan war veterans who sustained pure blast-force mTBI, compared to 12 who sustained pure blunt-force mTBI.