ABSTRACT
Myths about traumatic brain injury (TBI) include that damage to parts of the brain are not serious because people only use a small part of their brain anyway; that in order to have TBI one have to lose consciousness; and that people in a coma are aware of what is happening around them. Such misunderstandings highlight the importance of understanding something of the nature and implications of TBI. TBI may be classified as 'penetrating' or 'closed' head injuries. These classifications refer to the 'cranial vault', and 'dura matter'. The dura matter is the outer layers of the meninges, protective tissue that also comprises a middle layer (arachnoid) and inner layer (pia matter). The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as: cognition, language, memory, attention, reasoning, abstract thinking, judgement, problem solving, sensory, perceptual and motor abilities, psycho-social behaviour, physical functions, information processing, and speech.
