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Traumatic experiences can change people. Most understand that a psychological change occurs as people try to work past the nightmares and anxiety that haunt them. A classic example is how post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects someone after a horrifying experience.

While the tendency has been to associate PTSD to stressful experiences, new research suggests that it could be linked to traumatic brain injuries (TBI) as well. Scientists believe that blows to the head-like those sustained during a car accident-could change key parts of the brain, leading to a greater risk of PTSD.

Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles recently published a study where rats were used to examine the relationship between TBI and PTSD. Their findings stem from the responses from the amygdala, a tiny bundle of neurons is extremely vulnerable to damage during a physical blow to the head. The amygdala regulates fear responses, and scientists can learn a great deal about PTSD from this area.

The U.S. National Institute of Health has created a new type of imaging detection device that rapidly finds brain injury, and, it amazingly fits in the palm of the hand. This handheld innovation detects conditions like haematoma, which occurs when blood vessels in the brain leak blood into surrounding tissue and cause very dangerous swelling of the brain.

The Optical Society published the team's results in an open-access journal. The team concluded that the handheld device would be a faster and less expensive way to predetermine whether or not haematoma is occurring in traumatic brain injuries. Presently medical personnel use CT scans and MRI testing to look for signs of TBI including swelling, bleeding in the brain and leakage into the surrounding tissue.

Sustaining a spinal cord injury is a traumatic and life-changing event that often results in permanent paralysis. These types of injuries occur in a number of fashions including auto accidents.

The primary issue associated with paralysis is a lack of voluntary control of the body's muscles, a common consequence of which is the inability to walk. In addition to lack of muscle control, a variety of secondary issues related to SCIs can profoundly affect a paralysis victim's health and lifestyle. The parts of the body that are affected by these secondary issues, and to what degree, are dictated by the location of the SCI.

Individuals sustain a wide range of injuries when they are in an auto accident. However, sometimes the worst injuries are those that can't be seen.

Many accident victims suffer severe head injuries, even if they haven't hit their head on anything inside the vehicle. Many victims experience what's known as "deceleration injuries" or injuries that occur when a change in momentum causes the brain to move around inside the skull.

For example, when a vehicle traveling at 30 mph is hit head-on by another vehicle, both vehicles stop immediately. However, simple physics dictate that the drivers and passengers will not. As a result, they fly forward and rebound backward causing their soft brain tissue to slam against the hard bones of their skull.