The author reviews the empirical evidence on the psychological sequelae
of brain damage in childhood, concluding that brain injury causes a
markedly increased risk in both intellectual impairment and psychiatric
disorder. The risk is related to the severity of the brain damage, but
there is little indication of locus effects. Psychiatric disorder is
probably most likely to occur when there is abnormal neurophysiological
activity; to some extent it may be influenced by the nature of the basic
medical condition. Psychiatric consequences of brain injury are also
substantially affected by the child's pre-injury behavior, psychosocial
circumstances, and cognitive level. However, there are few psychological
sequelae that are specific to brain damage.
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