qEEG for Traumatic Brain Injury

QEEG Brain Scan for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Why get a QEEG Brain Scan for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)?

At Behavioral Associates, we recommend getting a qEEG brain scan as soon as possible following a head injury to provide insight to the extent and location of the injury. For participants of high impact sports, the qEEG can be a valuable tool for tracking potential brain trauma over time.

Symptoms of brain injury or concussion may go unnoticed at first, but can appear later and worsen over time. TBI can have long lasting impacts on memory and speech, often presenting with co-morbid depression, anxiety and mood disorders. A scan is particularly important if you have experienced the following:

• Repeat head blows from impact sports
• Other sports injury
• Car accident
• Stroke
• Incidents of falling
• Other head trauma

Sports Injury Prevention

For athletes of high impact sports such as football and soccer (heading the ball is a leading cause of TBI), Dr. Robert Reiner of Behavioral Associates recommends getting a qEEG brain scan before and after your season to monitor possible damage. While abnormalities may not show immediately, especially in the case of repeat blows to the head, damage may develop over time so follow-up brain scans are important.

Using the QEEG to evaluate Sports Injury and TBI

A qEEG is a detailed analysis of brain activity known as “brainmapping.” It can be performed to understand the extent and location of the brain injury, obtain an accurate diagnosis and establish baseline information to track changes over time (both positive and negative).

The qEEG is performed through sensors that are attached to the inner surface of a cap that is prepped with special conductive gel and put on the head of the patient. After scanning, the computer generates geographically displayed images which can be compared to published databases to check for deviations from normal patterns and evaluated as to whether it contains any patterns known to be associated with clinical conditions.

The QEEG is able to specifically evaluate for traumatic brain injury.

As well as determine the exact area of dysregulation.

Getting the right treatment

Your clinician will use the qEEG results to identify the extent and location of the injury and develop a treatment plan, which may include neurofeedback, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or a referral to a neurologist.