Brain, Behavior and Beyond: Tracing the Social Landscape of Pediatric TBI

Through a journey from toddlerhood to adolescence, this talk will provide a multimodal perspective of the impact of pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) on social functioning. The emergence of socially meaningful interactions, better perspective taking, greater social independence and more complex societal roles and responsibilities are key milestones of social development. Brain disruptions occurring at any stage along this path can disturb the delicate balance of environmental, cerebral, and cognitive processes underlying social competence, leading to inappropriate social behaviors. However, our ability to foresee adverse social outcomes after pediatric TBI is challenged by the complexity of factors underlying socio-cognitive development and limitations in the tools used for detecting brain lesions and their associated sequelae. Using sensitive neuroimaging tools and drawing on a variety of ecological social assessment approaches has the potential to improve prognosis and the early identification of youth at-risk for engaging in socially maladaptive behaviors after pediatric TBI.