The Psychosocial Impact of Neurobehavioral Disability

Abstract

Neurobehavioral disability (NBD) comprises elements of executive and attentional dysfunction, poor insight, problems of awareness and social judgement, labile mood, altered emotional expression, and poor impulse control, any or all of which can have a serious impact upon a person's decision-making and capacity for social independence. The aim of this narrative review is to explore some of the more intrusive forms of NBD that act as obstacles to psychosocial outcome to act as a frame of reference for developing effective rehabilitation interventions. Special consideration is given to the psychosocial impact of three core forms of NBD: a failure of social cognition, aggressive behavior, and problems of drive/motivation. Consideration is also given to the developmental implications of sustaining a brain injury in childhood or adolescence, including its impact on maturational and social development and subsequent effects on long-term psychosocial behavior.

Just a little bit of history repeating: the recurring and fatal consequences of lacking professional knowledge of acquired brain injury

“…The cognitive impairments following ABI make long-term reintegration problematic for individuals wishing to return to education or employment or wanting to re-engage with social networks (De Netto and McKinlay, 2019; McKinlay and Buck, 2019; Odumuyiwa et al , 2019; Abrahamson et al , 2017; Hicks et al , 2017; Piccenna et al , 2016; Mealings et al , 2012; Van Velzen et al , 2009). An inability to return to work has a devastating impact on people’s quality of life, with increased social isolation and high levels of social deprivation (Knight et al , 2020; Williams et al , 2020; Odumuyiwa et al , 2019; Oddy et al , 2018; Sariaslan et al , 2016; Whiteneck et al , 2016a, 2016b).…”

A Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Framework to Address Cognitive and Neurobehavioral Impairments After Strokes to the Anterior Communicating Artery

“…As clearly portrayed by the case of Mrs. B, working with ACoA patients requires building complex case formulations, demanding from rehabilitation teams to have the theoretical and technical competencies to assess and understand the relationship between cognitive, emotional and behavioral impairments (Wilson and Betteridge, 2019). This is particularly relevant since behavioral changes are often overlooked by rehabilitation professionals, or misunderstood as psychiatric problems, for example confounding energization or initiation deficits with depression (Williams et al, 2020). Mrs. B was for a long time misdiagnosed as depressed, missing the link between changes in her behavior and executive problems.…”

The relationship between vocal affect recognition and psychosocial functioning for people with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury: a systematic review

“…Social cognition is comprised of three interrelated, but dissociable componentsemotion perception, empathy and Theory of Mind (ToM) (Cassel et al, 2019;Cotter et al, 2018;Williams et al, 2020). Emotion perception, which includes the ability to recognise and interpret emotion using available cues (e.g., facial expressions, vocal expressions), is an important aspect of social cognition because it allows one to relate to others (Burns, 2017;Milders et al, 2008) and facilitates effective communication (McDonald, 2012).…”