Traumatic Brain Injury and Related Antisocial Behavioral Outcomes: A Systematic Review.

Background and

Objectives

Higher level of aggression and antisocial behavior have been found in the period following head trauma. These changes are attributable to specific brain alterations that generally involved frontal lobe, insula and limbic system. A descriptive review was conducted on the specificity of aggressive behavior in relation to traumatic brain injury by evaluating numerous variables, focusing on age at the time of trauma and neuroimaging studies. Materials and

Methods

We searched on PubMed and the Web of Science databases to screen references of included studies and review articles for additional citations. From an initial 738 publications, only 27 met the search criteria of describing the relationship between aggression, brain alterations and traumatic brain injury.

Results

These findings showed that traumatic brain injury (TBI) is related to changes in behavior, personality and mood.

Conclusions

The development of aggressive and criminal behavior is associated with multiple factors, including the etiology of injury, environmental, psychosocial and personality factors and age at the time of trauma.