One of the most common and devastating types of traumatic brain injury (TBI), where damage occurs over a more widespread area than in focal brain injury. Diffuse axonal injury, which refers to extensive lesions in white matter tracts, is one of the major causes of unconsciousness and persistent vegetative state after head trauma. It occurs in about half of all cases of severe head trauma and also occurs in moderate and mild TBI.
Devastating injury inflicted upon individual nerve cells leads to the disintegration of the overarching communication network among neurons in the brain. This dire consequence disrupts the seamless flow of information within the neural circuitry, impairing vital cognitive and physiological functions.