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Shear injury is a traumatic brain injury that occurs as white matter and white matter connections are disrupted from acceleration–deceleration, or rotational acceleration mechanisms of force. The axons of neurons are disturbed from a biomechanical, and often also, a biochemical standpoint. These disconnections of white matter can result in axonal, and ultimately cell, death. Functional consequences of these injuries may be slowed cognitive processing speed, decreased motor coordination, disturbance in language function, and disturbance in higher-level executive functions.
Current Knowledge
Research is currently focused on defining clinical signs or hallmarks of shear strain injury. Although controversial, dilated Virchow–Robin spaces have been suggested to be a radiologic marker of shear strain injury following trauma (Inglese M et al., 2006). Further study is needed to determine the extent to which shear strain injuries are reversible with...
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Inglese, M., Grossman, R. I., Diller, L., Babb, J. S., Gonen, N., Silver, J. M., & Rusinek, H. (2006). Clinical significance of dilated Virchow-Robin spaces in mild traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury, 20, 15–21.
Scheid, R., Walther, K., Guthke, T., Preul, C., & Von Cramon, D. Y. (2006). Cognitive sequelae of diffuse axonal injury. Archives of Neurology, 63, 418–424.
Graham, D. I., Saatman, K. E., Marklund, N., Conte, V., Morales, D., Royo, N., & McIntosh, T. K. (2006). The neuropathology of trauma. In R. W. Evans (Ed.), Neurology and Trauma (2nd ed., pp. 45–94). New York: Oxford University Press.
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Rush, B. (2011). Shearing Injury, Shear Strain. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_277
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_277
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-79947-6
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-79948-3
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