Cognitive-emotional-vestibular triad in mild traumatic brain injury

While mTBI symptoms fully resolve in most individuals, a significant minority follow a different trajectory, exhibiting a more variable course, which can range from subclinical intermittent symptoms to frank cognitive and behavioral impairments. For this latter group, these symptoms can be debilitating, distressing, and persistent, and have a significant impact on quality of life. This chapter will review the constellation of acute and post-acute cognitive and emotional changes associated with mTBI, as well as effects on vestibular functioning. In particular, it will emphasize the unique relationships between cognition, emotion, and the vestibular system, an observation that was first reported nearly three decades ago,28 and one that continues to be the subject of significant scientific interest. A greater understanding of the intersection between cognition and neurosensory function will provide a valuable framework to study the complex array of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral changes following a mild traumatic head injury.